Mother sues Tavistock child gender clinic over treatments

Oct 15, 2019 by

by Greg Hurst, The Times:

England’s first NHS child gender clinic is being threatened with legal action over its use of “experimental” treatments for children as young as 11.

The case, being brought by the mother of a patient aged 15 and a nurse who worked at the service, argues that hormone-blocking treatments are being unlawfully administered to children who cannot properly consent.

The pair are asking judges to ban the clinic from giving the treatment to children unless a court decides that it is in their best interests. They have accused the Tavistock and Portman NHS trust, which runs the gender identity development service (Gids) in north London, of misleading families about the nature of the treatment.

They argue that children and their parents are not adequately told of the risks and cannot give informed consent because of the centre’s “inaccurate and potentially misleading” description of hormone blockers.

The mother who is bringing the case says she opposes the treatment that doctors at the clinic plan to give her daughter, who has autism and is awaiting assessment for reassignment therapy. She says her daughter is among many children with autism being treated at the clinic. She wants the treatment of all children to stop until the clinic’s practices are reviewed and more is known about the effects of hormone blockers.

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