Keira Bell: Puberty blockers give children options, Trust says - BBC News
peter.suber's bookmarks 2021-07-26
Summary:
"The Court of Appeal is considering whether under-16s can give informed consent to medical treatment that delays the onset of puberty.
The appeal is brought by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.
It says puberty blockers give children distressed by their birth sex time to consider "options".
But a representative for Keira Bell, who brought the original case, says children cannot understand all of the treatment's implications....
The Court of Appeal hearing has so far revolved around two key areas.
Firstly, whether under-16's can truly consent to puberty blockers when their feelings about, for instance, their fertility may change substantially in the next decade.
Secondly, whether that treatment is experimental. The High Court concluded it was. The Tavistock disagrees, throughout it has pointed to prescription of the drugs by doctors going back more than twenty years...."