A woman is taking the NHS to court after claiming that the gender reassignment treatment she received as a teenager was ‘unlawful’ leaving her feeling suicidal.
Keira Bell who is aged 23 has since transitioned back to a female and accused Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust of rushing her gender reassignment treatment when she was diagnosed with gender dysphoria as a teenager.
The condition made Keira ‘identify’ as a male despite being born biologically female, as a result of this Tavistock Centre prescribed testosterone and hormone blocker drugs that delayed her puberty.
However, in a twist of events, Keira said she later regretted the decision despite admitting she was In ‘no doubt’ at the time she wanted to be proscribed the drugs.
Ms Bell told Sky News: “The whole process is really traumatic looking back on it, there’s no going back from it really because you are changed forever visibly.”
She added: “I just realised that it (gender reassignment) hadn’t worked after a few years… I just went into like a menopause-like state and everything just kind of shut down.
“I felt drained and tired and had nothing but negative effects from it really, I didn’t have a good experience with it at all.”
In a landmark case, Ms Bell’s legal team will argue she could not give informed consent because she was only a child and the risks of the treatment had not been adequately explained to her.
The case is set to be heard in the High Court later in 2020.
The Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust said in a statement: “A judge has this week decided that the proposed judicial review of the Gender Identity Development Service approach may proceed to a hearing.
“We welcome the opportunity this provides to talk about the service and to stand up for our dedicated staff who put the best interests of the young people and families at the heart of their practice.
“GIDS provides a thoughtful and measured service for children, young people and their families who come to us in considerable distress.
“Our clinicians have no preconceptions about outcomes for the young people who are referred to our service, all of whom are provided with psycho-social support throughout their time with us.
“While physical intervention is only accessed by a minority of our patients, it is important that this option remains available and is informed by the latest evidence.”
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