The Doctor Won’t See You Now: Rights of Transgender Adolescents to Sex Reassignment Treatment

Introduction

Transgender adolescents’ who seek sex reassignment treatment are caught in a dangerous holding pattern. Their gender identity exposes them to significant bias and discrimination at home, at school, and on the street, often to devastating effect. Yet many who are mature, capable of giving informed consent, and have full understanding of their gender identity are prevented from medically transitioning to the gender with which they identify until they reach eighteen, the legal age of consent.