Emily Chapman has written a case summary for the recent case of transgender adolescents and the capacity to consent to treatment (EF v LM and another).

This judgment highlights developments in the law surrounding transgender adolescents and their ability to consent to puberty blockers and cross-hormone treatment. It acknowledges the importance of consent being fully informed and given without pressure. It looks to the extent of the role of parental responsibility and at what stage the court may need to intervene to protect the best interests of the child or adolescent. This is a sensitive area of law and this judgment recognises that it is not for the court to provide guidance beyond what is necessary. The court approved the further assessment for treatment of a young person by a private London clinic, but found it needed to go no further as other issues would not be live until the completion of the assessment. The court stressed that future cases in this area need to be considered on a case by case approach to ensure the law is developed incrementally and as required in the absence of intervention by Parliament. Emily Chapman, pupil at 1GC Family Law Chambers, looks at the issues.

The full article is available via Lexis PSL where it was first published 04/06/2024, if you have a subscription you will be able to access it via the link below.