Puberty blockers to be blocked for under-16s

[Ollie2UK]

The high court said that the decision is not for the under-16 youths.  I guess that leaves it to the parents.

Unfortunately, it doesn't,

The NHS has made it clear ALL requests for puberty blockers for under 16s will have to be referred to a court, regardless of parental consent. Which seems likely to add a LOT of extra time to what is already a fairly lengthy process,

In other news, a 14 year old transgender boy has now started legal proceedings against the NHS over delays to his gender reassignment treatment,

All a bit of a mess really,

[Parsifal]

Ah yes, now I remember reading that in The Guardian article.  Sorry.
So it's a debate about whether we agree with the high court or not (re the 16-y/o standard).

I suppose, for better or worse, it is fair to say that the court views itself as acting in youths' best interests regardless of whether that is misguided or not (rather than just viewing the court as the bad guy).  Is that fair?

[Ollie2UK]

I think that's probably the case, Parsi, yes,

As is often the case when courts get involved, the wording of their verdict can have unintentional ramifications. Its ruling said it was unlikely under 16s could give informed consent (highly unlikely for 13 & under, & doubtful for 14-15). The NHS has interpreted this as a need for courts to rule on every case for under 16s and some for 17-18 year olds. I suppose they're covering their backs now,

[Parsifal]

It is a serious treatment.  Although it's my understanding that the UK is not as litigious as the US.