30/09/2021
The National Health Service's main gender service, the Tavistock and Portman Trust has won an appeal against the December 2020 Court ruling that young people under the age of sixteen could not consent to puberty blockers. The BBC News Channel explained that this was a major hit back against anti-trans campaigners who had been arguing that youngsters were somehow being browbeaten into thinking they were transgender when they were not. The December 2020 ruling was described as “cruel” by top newswire Pink News who noted that radical anti-transgender activists had spent several hundred thousand crowd funded pounds on the initial court case. Pink News also referenced research which found that puberty blockers can greatly enhance the mental wellbeing of young people with gender dysphoria, and help them come to terms with their identity. The Court of Appeal ruled that it was not the place of courts, but of medical experts to decide whether a person can consent to puberty blockers. In a slap in the face for the anti-trangender movement, they added ““the (initial) claim for judicial review should have been dismissed”. A spokesperson for young trans person's charity Mermaids spoke to the BBC Radio 5Live Channel and explained that even though the December 2020 ruling was not immediately binding, it had had the effect of closing down options for many families. The UK’s biggest children’s charities, including Barnados and the NSPCC, united in their defence of trans youngsters’ right to access gender-affirming healthcare like puberty blockers. One of the anti-trans activists, Keira Bell, said that she would be seeking leave to take the case to the Supreme Court. Speaking outside the Court of Appeal, she angrily claimed to journalists “It is a fantasy that a 10-year-old could consent to the loss of their fertility.” Haroon Saddique, reporting in the Guardian, noted that Bell was wrong in both claims – puberty blockers can only be given from the age of sixteen and scientists have found that they do not impact fertility. Gscene Magazine says that educational network Gendered Intelligence announced the news on social media, saying: “SUCCESS! Bell v Tavistock has been overturned in the Court of Appeal. This is a huge win for trans people, trans youth and their families in particular.” Lots of LGBTQ Media gave prominent coverage to the victory for campaigners in the Court of Appeal, with coverage on Gaydio, Gorgeous FM and Pride World Radio amongst many others.
https://genderedintelligence.wordpress.com/2021/09/17/bell-v-tavistock-q...