Since June, when I last wrote about the deeply distressing case of Archie Battersbee, his ventilator was eventually switched off on 4 August. Soon after, he was declared dead when his heart subsequently stopped beating. In the evidence they gave at the court hearing on […]

Mitochondrial Donation Down Under
‘Maeve’s Law has just passed the Senate 37-17 and will now become law. It is globally leading mitochondrial legislation to give hope to families across Australia’ tweeted Greg Hunt, an Australian MP on March 30th 2022. He was one of the prime movers behind the […]

Wrongful conception – the latest weapon in culling disability?
At the end of November, in the High Court, the case of Toombes v Dr Philip Mitchell was heard before Rosalind Coe QC, acting judge. The claimant, 20-year-old Evie Toombes, sued her mother’s GP, Dr Mitchell, on the grounds of her own wrongful conception. Had […]

Court rules that puberty blockers are ‘experimental treatment’
A judgement handed down from the High Court yesterday (1 December 2020) ruled that puberty blockers (PBs) and cross-sex hormones (CSH) are ‘innovative and experimental’ treatments and that it is unlikely that children and young people will be able to give informed consent to the […]

From the mouths of children…
In the old fairy tale of The Emperor’s New Clothes, a tailor tells a king that he has invented a wonderful new kind of cloth, that can only be seen by the wisest people. He makes a beautifully-tailored outfit for the Emperor, who proudly goes […]