UK children who wish to undergo surgery to change their gender will be banned from doing so in future, in terms of planned new legislation.
The Daily Telegraph reports the equalities minister has announced. In a landmark move, which has been criticised by trans rights charities as introducing “a new form of inequality into British medical practice”, Liz Truss said that the government will set out details of the plans later this summer. Currently, people under the age of 18 are allowed surgery but with parental consent.
Even still, the process is so long drawn out that in reality few teenagers are able to undergo irreversible surgery before they reach adulthood. However, the equalities minister today signalled plans to ban under-18s with gender dysphoria from genital reconstructive surgery in a move, she claimed, which would “protect them from making those irreversible decisions”.
Giving evidence to the Women and Equalities Select Committee, she set out her priorities for the Government Equalities Office and revealed that the government's full response to reforming the Gender Recognition Act will be published this summer. The report says this comes two years after former women and equalities minister, Penny Mordaunt, launched a public consultation into how trans people change their legal gender on their birth certificates.
Under the existing Act, a trans person has to undergo a two-year waiting period and a review from a specialist panel before being able to change their gender legally.
Addressing the committee, Truss outlined three “very important principles” she will be implementing. This included: the “extremely important” “protection of single-sex spaces”, and ensuring that transgender adults are free to live their lives as they wish without fear of persecution “whilst maintaining the proper checks and balances in the system”. The minister also addressed the issue of gender reassignment surgery for children which is not directly linked to the Act, but “is relevant”.
Dr Jane Hamlin, president of the Beaumont Society, a transgender support group, added that it was “reassuring” that Truss believes strongly that adults should have the freedom to lead their lives as they see fit. “It is essential that all people, whatever their age, should be treated with respect. This, of course, includes trans people.”
However, she added: “It is important that those young people who identify as trans should have puberty blockers available to them if they are able to make an informed decision, have the appropriate medical support and there are no underlying health issues that would make this intervention unwise. This would mean that decisions about irreversible surgery would not need to be considered until the individual has reached adulthood.”
[link url="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/22/trans-children-banned-surgery-change-gender-equalities-minister/?li_source=LI&li_medium=li-recommendation-widget"]Full report in The Daily Telegraph[/link]