Transgender teens aged 16-plus are able to consent to taking puberty blocking drugs, the UK High Court has ruled. However the judges also said it is ‘doubtful’ that 14 and 15-year-olds would understand the issues before consenting to using the drugs.
And it is ‘highly unlikely’ that children aged under 13 will be competent to give consent. The ruling will disappoint anti-trans campaigners who wanted to stop doctors prescribing puberty blockers for under 18s.
However, it has also disappointed trans campaigners. Trans youth charity Mermaids says the ruling is a ‘potentially devastating blow to trans under-16s’.
The organization called it a ‘betrayal of trans young people’. Moreover, the judges’ stance could be influential far beyond the UK –