
Delivering the ruling in a case brought against Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust, Dame Victoria Sharp, sitting with Lord Justice Lewis and Mrs Justice Lieven, said yesterday (1 December): "It is highly unlikely that a child aged 13 or under would be competent to give consent to the administration of puberty blockers.
"It is doubtful that a child aged 14 or 15 could understand and weigh the long-term risks and consequences of the administration of puberty blockers."
The case was brought by Kiera Bell, a 23-year-old woman who was referred to the Tavistock Centre, which runs the UK's only gender-identity development service (GIDS), as a teenager and was prescribed puberty blockers aged 16.
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