Susie Green, CEO of Mermaids said:
“We’re absolutely delighted to see that the appeal of the Bell v Tavistock case will involve interventions from four fantastic organisations.
“These organisations aim to give the children impacted a voice during the appeal hearing, something that was shamefully missing from the first instance ruling.
“As one of the UK’s leading charities working with transgender children, we are proud to join together with many other organisations to support this important legal intervention, and of the unity and consensus behind it.
“We stand together in the hope that we can speak up for young people and families wrongly denied a voice in this judgment.”
Notes:
- Bell v Tavistock is the commonly shortened way of referring to the case Quincy Bell and A -v- Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust and others, which ruled that individuals under-16 are unable to consent to receiving medication that temporarily pauses puberty. The court also said “[in] respect of young persons aged 16 and over […] we recognise that clinicians may well regard these as cases where the authorisation of the court should be sought prior to commencing the clinical treatment.”
- Mermaids supports transgender, nonbinary and gender-diverse children and young people until their 20th birthday, as well as their families and professionals involved in their care.
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