Changing gender: A landmark judgement in the Keira Bell case
The Story
The Times
3.9 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 2 December 2020
⏱️ 33 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Yesterday at the High Court, a judgement was passed that could have major implications for the treatment of children at gender identity clinics.
We speak to two people with very different perspectives: Keira Bell, the 23-year-old who detransitioned and is at the centre of the case; and the mother of a young transgender man, who thinks the court made the wrong decision.
Guests:
- Sian Griffiths, education and families editor, The Sunday Times.
- Keira Bell, one of the people at the centre of the High Court decision.
- Jo, the parent of a young transgender man who was also treated at the Tavistock clinic.
Host: Manveen Rana.
Clips: Sky News.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It's been described as a historic judgment. |
| 0:07.0 | Yesterday, as three senior judges conferred at the High Court in London, |
| 0:12.0 | families all over the country waited. |
| 0:16.4 | The judgment they passed will have an enormous impact on children who want to change |
| 0:21.2 | their gender. |
| 0:28.0 | At the heart of this case is 23 year old Kiribel. She was 16 when she was prescribed puberty blockers |
| 0:32.0 | after she decided to transition from being a girl to being a boy. |
| 0:37.0 | It was a decision she later regretted. |
| 0:39.5 | I definitely think there needs to be a stop to prescribing PV blockers to minors under 18. |
| 0:46.0 | It's so obvious you can't give a kid five appointments and then send them off to the |
| 0:52.0 | under chronologist. |
| 0:52.8 | It's crazy. |
| 0:53.8 | Kira Bell took the clinic where she was treated to court |
| 0:57.8 | because she believes she was too young to know what she was agreeing to |
| 1:02.3 | when she underwent treatment. |
| 1:04.0 | But there are others who believe puberty blockers can help some teenagers. |
| 1:09.0 | They may even save lives. |
| 1:11.0 | Going through puberty was really triggering self-harm. |
| 1:14.6 | I wanted him to access gender specialists. |
| 1:17.8 | You're listening to stories of our times |
| 1:20.0 | from the Times and the Sunday Times. |
| 1:22.4 | I'm Manvee Rana. |
... |
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