Court papers revealed that the notorious Tavistock gender clinic has approved a 22-year-old with 14 mental health conditions who cannot read or write for a sex-change surgery. The UK NHS clinic, which has been a source of scandal for years, approved the young woman – described in court documents as “Al” to protect her identity – for surgery despite the fact that she had a troubled childhood with a drug addict mother who was the victim of domestic abuse, was cared for by her disabled grandmother, and ended up in the care system as a teen.
According to the court documents – which identify Al as male – Al was referred to Tavistock at age 14:
He has a total of 14 diagnoses and continues to have complex needs. His difficulties have been medically described as Mild Mental Retardation, Attachment Disorder, Emotion Dysregulation, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder, dyslexia, severe anxiety, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and low self-esteem. In 2021, he was diagnosed with disturbance of activity and attention, minimal impairment of behaviour and reactive attachment disorder of childhood.
The fact that this young woman has been approved for surgery has only come to light because she sued Wandsworth Council in the High Court for failing to address the special educational needs of young people who identify as transgender, arguing that “misgendering” contributed to the failure of her education. Al’s schooling was consistently interrupted by the tragic circumstances of her childhood. Judge Mrs. Justice Foster ultimately ruled that the Council had not neglected Al’s education, and that “The circumstances of his [sic] early life are significantly distressing and can only provoke profound sympathy.”
The response to the news that a young disabled woman who cannot read or write has been approved for a sex change by a clinic that was slated for closure last year after reports showed that Tavistock had been rushing young people into transition was fury. Conservative peer Lord Goldsmith called out the medical staff at Tavistock and the Portman NHS Foundation Trust on social media.
“This person has been diagnosed with 14 mental health disorders,” he wrote. “The response from these ghouls is to chop up her body and fill her with hormones. How is this different to lobotomies? These professionals are utterly barbaric and need locking up.”
