North West Lancashire Health Authority case

North West Lancashire Health Authority case

North West Lancashire Health Authority appealed against the 1998 High Court ruling that their policy of refusing to fund treatment for trans people was unlawful.  The appeal was rejected:

• NHS must pay for sex swaps (Evening Standard 1999-07-29)
• Transsexuals win right to sex change on NHS (Daily Telegraph 1999-07-30)
• Transsexuals win right to surgery (The Independent 1999-07-30)
• Ban on operation for sex change was unlawful (The Guardian 1999-07-30)
• Appeal court upholds free sex changes (The Scotsman 1999-07-30)
• Sex changes on NHS: Judges say health service must pay because patients have a real illness (Daily Mail 1999-07-30)
• Landmark transsexual ruling upheld (BBC 1999-07-29)
• Blanket ban on treating transsexuals is ruled ’unlawful’ (British Medical Journal 1999-08-07)
• See also the full text of the judgment of the Court of Appeal.
• This case prompted several articles commenting on the perceived consequences of the judgment.  Some of the commentary was quite hostile:
  • Minority rights, and the threat to freedom: allowing trans people to have surgery on the NHS will lead to all sorts of terrible things (Daily Mail 1999-07-31)
  • “Sex change ops make me feel ill” claims Simon Heffer (Daily Mail 1999-07-31)
  • Cost of Sex Change — a professor of medical ethics condemns the decision (The Independent 1999-08-02)
  • Mutilation won’t make a man a woman — Dea Birkett sounds off (The Guardian 1999-08-05)
  • Stop the hypocrisy over sex changes (The Express 1999-08-05)