OPITONS

U.K. Appeals Court Overturns Rule Preventing Puberty Blockers for Kids Under 16

The case was brought by a woman who had taken the medication at 16 before halting transition medical care as an adult.

A U.K. appeals court overturned a ruling by a high court that called children under age 16 considering transition-related medical care too immature to request puberty-blocking pills, Sky News reported Friday. The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust had appealed the initial ruling last year, which was brought by Keira Bell, 24, who began taking the medication at 16 before halting transition medical care as an adult. In its ruling, the appeal court said the high court was wrong in making such judgments, stating that medical guidance should solely come from doctors. “The court was not in a position to generalise about the capability of persons of different ages to understand what is necessary for them to be competent to consent to the administration of puberty blockers,” the three-judge panel wrote.

Bell said she disagreed with the court’s decision and did not regret bringing the case with two others. “I am surprised and disappointed that the court was not concerned that children as young as 10 have been put on a pathway to sterilisation,” she said.