Gillick competence, a thread
1/

Lord Scarman's formulation is the generally accepted summary of gillick competence.

"the parental right to determine whether or not their minor child... will have medical treatment terminates if and when...

the child achieves sufficient understanding and intelligence to understand fully what is proposed."

This is not to say that minors can consent to medical treatment, as a blanket statement.

A child may fully understand one treatment, but not another.
2/

The Kiera Bell case does not question Gillick. It rests on the assertion that children cannot fully understand what they are consenting to, when consenting to puberty blockers and cross sex hormones.

At 15, you can consent to the pill, but not to lifelong sterilisation.

Ends