AIBU about transgender person taking legal action against NHS for allowing her to transition? [[title edited by MNHQ on OP's behalf]]

[HollyGoLoudly1]

A 23 year old is taking legal action against the NHS for giving her treatment to transition to male as a teenager. She has since decided to live as a female and is taking legal action against the NHS as they should have 'challenged her' more when she wanted to transition rather than giving her the treatment.

The NHS can't do right for doing wrong here. Cash strapped to the point of collapse and being sued for giving someone the treatment they asked for. I despair.

AIBU or is this absolutely ludicrous?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-51676020
from MNHQ - this title and OP originally said the person concerned was suing the NHS. They are in fact just taking legal action. The OP has asked us to make this clear but you may find some of the early posts reflect the words in the original title

GinDrinker00 that's right. Blame a child for making a poor decision which was endorsed and implemented by trained medical professionals who knew what the consequences were when she did not.

From what I'm seeing it's incredibly easy for those who suspect they might be trans to get on hormones/t. There are even some hospitals in the US that are performing mastectomies on young teenage girls.

I've been watching a lot of detransitioners lately, most recently (this one) and want they all seem to have in common is that they weren't given enough support/therapy to really get to the root of things.

The NHS can't do right for doing wrong here I don't believe there is any right in giving teenager with not fully developed brains hormones to control their development, then add and take things off.
I know one MTF he was done quick too. He/She has had nose, jawline, breast implants, she still looks the same as before. Him with a slimmer face and breasts. He lived his life with severe medicated MH issues before the transition, he has the same life minus so much, he fell out with so many people who tried to dissuade him.

The NHS should not be paying for this type of treatment at all, IMO.

I can’t believe this happened in the first place, surely all adults remember how difficult it is to be a teenager and that teenagers make rash and poor decisions because they don’t have the life experience and critical thinking skills to understand the consequences. I feel very sorry for this poor girl.

Meanwhile those actually waiting for heart surgery, cancer treatment, brain scans, or for mental health servcies can just wait longer while this person sues the arse off the people who really did try to do everything to help.

She's not suing the NHS.

Following on from the previous point, can you explain how a judicial review of the NHS' gender identity protocols - which is what she is seeking - is going to adversely affect people waiting for heart surgery, cancer treatment, brain scans, or for mental health services?

This is fantastic. The NHS has a duty of care and is epically failing young confused often autistic women who think they want to transition.

HaHa, and had the NHS not allowed her to transition the same complainers now would still be complaining that they were failing her! Is it any wonder that the NHS is in financial difficulties?

Let's remember too that it is impossible to "transition" from female to male. Keira was never ever going to become a real boy. It was always a fantasy.

Adults should not have played along at all, never mind giving her hormones and surgery.

The NHS stopped paying for homeopathy. Why is it paying for alchemy at all?

Hopefully she wins and the nhs stops doing it.

NeurotrashWarrior - I absolutely see the legal point and agree it is extremely important. Gillick has allowed a lot of older teens - particularly women- to exert control over their own health. Whether that is a good or bad thing is still being debated. Will the ruling in this upcoming case change the status quo or not? We shall see.

She was a child! She should never have been allowed the treatment

This is the tip of the iceberg. The scandal will be huge and far reaching and anyone who cheered on young girls to get their double mastectomies (and all of the hormone treatments, puberty blockers and any other operation to remove healthy tissue from distressed young people) is implicated.

The back pedalling and minimising will be massive. But too much is documented for organisations and individuals to pretend they were not in favour of this horror show.

I agree that too many young people, especially on the spectrum, have been pushed along the transition route without due diligence.
For that reason I think she's right to sue and believe there will be many more cases in the next few years.

Another important point is the people they surrounded themselves with online. If they had a niggling doubt, they would voice it and everyone would assure them that it was normal and their 'internalised transphobia' speaking. People constantly telling you that you are doing the right thing really goes a long way, even if it isn't the right thing to do at all.

The issues is with NHS is that we are made to believe we should be thankful for having such a system

And in many ways I am but that doesn’t mean the NHS is beyond criticism if she didn’t take action then others may suffer in the same way

Of course she should have had further therapy unfortunately too many people making decisions within the NHS are not always the best people to be doing so

Many times I question why the NHS is being sued but there are times when they should be, staff and managers held accountable to make progressive changes that benefit patients and not look good on reports

Agree with much said above. If children present with anorexia - which actually carries a higher rate of suicidality - they are not given liposuction and pills to increase their weight loss; caring treatment is to stand up to what they want and to meet instead what they need, while addressing the underlying causes.

Important also to remember that the NHS response and treatment for these specific children has been made in the context of heavy political lobbying by pressure groups, and its verifiable fact that these pressure groups are overwhelmingly led by adult males, who were adult transitioners, have fully functioning sexuality and no intention of themselves taking the medical pathway they are advocating for children.

Erm no people who think it's a bad idea to unquestioningly give drugs and surgery to children on their say so

Are not going to be saying on another thread, FFS the NHS must give irreversible drugs to children and also surgery on their say so

!!!

She sounds so ungreatful. Got free care and treatment and now wants to sue them because she regrets HER choice. She should be banned from any more NHS treatment.

The treatment the NHS prescribed to her as a child has has given her an elevated risk for heart disease, stroke and cancer.

Yet you think she shouldn’t be entitled to any more healthcare ever? That is an absolutely monstrous thing to say.

BaolFan Is the Tavistock not part of the Portman NHS trust? I was also under the impression that the NHS would be paying for a legal team.

It is all resources that could be used elsewhere. (If not then who is paying?) Maybe I misunderstood - if so I apologise and stand corrected.

Thanks for all the replies, it genuinely has made me think. The fact that the vote is 50:50 shows how contentious the issue is.

Totally accept I was wrong to describe it as 'suing' in my OP.

I am also against young children receiving hormonal treatment, however I always felt this was a personal opinion as I am no expert in the evidence/procedures for treatment. I know only one person irl who has transitioned and she has always argued for earlier treatment. She blames her poor mental health as a teen/young adult on the fact that she couldn't/didn't receive treatment to transition until she was an adult. So maybe that colours my views on this issue.

Simple answer is to take it off the nhs as a treatment. You can’t get a verruca frozen off in some areas but you can transition.

Story about this in the Economist here.

She isn't suing them.

She sounds so ungreatful

You sound so stupid.

There will be huge numbers of such cases, and I’m glad the NHS is being held to account. Places like the Tavistock have acted very dubiously, and likely continue to do so.

I think she is incredibly brave and principled (as pointed out, this is a judicial review, not a compensation claim). I dread to think what kind of vitriol she must be enduring from transactivists.