Children are “highly unlikely” to be able to consent to taking puberty blockers, rules High Court

Children under 16 cannot consent to the use of puberty blockers for gender dysphoria unless they can understand the immediate and long term consequences of the treatment, which is unlikely, the High Court in London has ruled.1

Even for over 16s, clinicians might well want to seek court authorisation before administering puberty blockers, said three senior judges.

The legal challenge was brought against the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust, which runs the UK’s only gender reassignment service for young people. Keira Bell, 23, who was treated as a teenager, and “Mrs A,” the mother …