High Court ruled it was ‘highly unlikely’ that a child aged 13 or under would be able to consent to the hormone-blocking treatment and that it was ‘very doubtful’ a child of 14 or 15 would understand the long-term consequences.The landmark ruling made it difficult for transgender children to access the treatment – which stops puberty by suppressing hormones – as a court would have to decide if they fully understood it.
The appeal was brought by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the UK’s only gender identity development service for children.