North West Lancashire Health Authority v A, D and G

North West Lancashire Health Authority v A, D and G (also known as R v. North West Lancashire Health Authority, ex parte A, D, and G) was a legal case in England that occurred in 1999. In it, the North West Lancashire Health Authority did not fund gender reassignment surgery for three transgender women.

The three women were denied gender reassignment surgery from 1996 to 1997, as the health authority said that none of them had shown an "overriding and clinical need for treatment". All three had been living as women for several years and had begun feminising hormone therapy as part of their gender transition.[1][2][3] After a judicial review, the High Court ruled that the health authority had misunderstood the nature of transsexual patients, that the health authority did not accurately assess the need for surgery for the wellbeing of the individual patients, and that the blanket ban given by the authority on gender reassignment surgery was "unlawful and irrational".[1] However, the court rejected claims by the litigants that their rights under the Human Rights Act 1998 were violated.[4][5]

The authority brought the case to the Court of Appeal, arguing that their refusal to pay for gender reassignment surgery was due to "scarce resources", which meant that illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, kidney disease and HIV/AIDS would not be covered by the hospital.[2] However, they were unsuccessful in overturning the ruling[2][6] and were ordered to pay £150,000 in legal costs.[2]

The judgement was the first time that transgender surgical operations had been tested in an open court in the United Kingdom[7] and was described by Stephen Lodge (the solicitor representing the three women) as a "landmark in the continuing struggle for legal recognition" of transgender rights in Britain.[3][8] The ruling means that it is illegal for any health authority in England or Wales to put a blanket ban on gender-affirming surgery relating to transgender people.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b Wilson, Jamie (22 December 1998). "Sex-change trio win NHS test case". The Guardian. p. 8.
  2. ^ a b c d Dyer, Clare (30 July 1999). "Ban on operation for sex change was unlawful". The Guardian. p. 4.
  3. ^ a b "Landmark transsexual ruling upheld". BBC News. 29 July 1999.
  4. ^ "Doctoring the law -- while human rights law has, on its face, little to say on access to health care and medical information, the Human Rights Act could provide new rights for patients". Law Gazette. The Law Society. 27 July 2000.
  5. ^ Curtice, Martin (2009). "Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998: implications for clinical practice" (PDF). Advances in Psychiatric Treatment. 15 (1): 23–24. doi:10.1192/apt.bp.107.005462.
  6. ^ Jevon, Philip (2 November 2006). Emergency Care and First Aid for Nurses: A Practical Guide. Elsevier Health Sciences. p. 326. ISBN 978-0-7020-3502-9.
  7. ^ Finn, Gary (22 December 1998). "Ruling backs sex change surgery". The Independent. p. 7.
  8. ^ Adamson, Colin (29 July 1999). "NHS must pay for sex swaps as judges say transsexuals are ill". Evening Standard. p. 172.
  9. ^ McNab, Claire. "Foreword" (PDF). Press for Change. p. 1. Retrieved 21 December 2021.