Can a child consent to life-altering and irreversible medical treatment as part of transitioning their gender? This was the fraught question at the heart of the case that Keira Bell took against the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust, which runs the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) for children with gender dysphoria.
The high court’s landmark ruling clearly sets out that in referring children as young as 10 for puberty-blocking drugs, GIDS has been misinterpreting the law on child consent.
It will ensure that children will now receive the protection to which they are legally entitled.Bell’s story is distressing.