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January 20, 2021 - 7:00 AM
A B.C. mother who tried to block her 17-and-a-half-year-old son from having gender reassignment treatment has lost her case in court.
According to a Jan. 18 decision, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Diane MacDonald blocked a series of civil court actions the mother launched against her son in an effort to obtain his medical records and prevent him from undergoing gender-affirming surgery.
The ruling will now allow the teen, whose gender was assigned female at birth but identifies as male, to continue to proceed with gender reassignment treatment.
"There is clearly a broader public debate regarding whether gender-affirming surgery is in the best interest of youth," the justice said in the decision. "In B.C. that debate has been resolved in favour of surgery."
The justice's comment that surgery is the best option even for those under 19, appears to contradict the Provincial Health Services Authority and Trans Care B.C. which states that surgery is “sometimes” an option for those under 19.
According to the decision, the mother known as AM (all names have been reduced to initials in the ruling) launched multiple court proceedings against her son, YZ, in an effort to halt any medical procedures.
In November 2019, AM tried to restrain two doctors from prescribing or administering testosterone and from performing a "double mastectomy or any surgery upon YZ."
She also wanted YZ's medical records disclosed.
However, AM misled the court about several issues including the whereabouts of YZ's father – who supported his son's decision – along with her relationships with YZ. She also withheld an earlier court order concerning YZ's custody from when the couple separated in 2006.
The justice said these were "significant" omissions and that the claim is an abuse of process.
YZ argued his mother ignored his best interests, and that his father, his doctors and social workers, all support his views.
"I think YZ is mature enough to make his own healthcare decisions and has been doing so safely for some time," YZ's father says in the decision.
The judge's ruling echoes an earlier court ruling where the father of a 15-year-old boy launched legal action to stop his son from having hormone treatment in December 2018. In January 2020, the B.C. Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the son.
READ MORE: B.C. Court of Appeal rules dad can't interfere in 15-year-old's gender reassignment
Much of the Jan. 18 decision is given over to complex legal arguments surrounding the many court filings the mother has made, but ultimately the justice dismissed all AM's claims.
"AM has not established a basis upon which she would be entitled to any medical information about YZ or input into YZ’s medical care," the Justice says.
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