A German lawyer has accused the authorities of bias in cases where children wish to change their gender through medical intervention against their parents' wishes. Such interventions include taking puberty-blocking hormones or undergoing surgical removal of genitalia.

Jonas Jacob gained media attention when he successfully represented the parents of a teenage boy who sued for emancipation in order to start taking puberty blockers, with the support of the youth welfare office in Darmstadt, Frankfurt.

The judge reportedly supported the boy’s „transition,” according to the lawyer, who added that German authorities often do everything possible to encourage children towards surgery and hormone therapy.

EXC: A German lawyer is accusing German authorities of bias in cases of children who want to have their sex medically changed against their parents’ wishes. https://t.co/nPtoZCXVQd

— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) February 27, 2026

„The child protection authorities quickly adopt a black-and-white narrative, suggesting to the children in their care that their ‘evil parents’ do not want them to receive this ‘wonderful therapy’ that supposedly solves all their problems,” he told Brussels Signal in an interview.

„The young judge urged a swift hearing due to ‘special urgency.’ This pressure was very irritating. The boy referred to the gender-affirming therapy as his ‘greatest birthday gift,'” Jacob said, also claiming that the judge attempted to pressure the boy’s parents by asking them why, if they loved their child, they did not agree to the therapy.

The estrangement between the boy and his parents began in the summer of 2022 when a group of transgender activists visited his school as part of a project day. The boy later attended a summer camp organized by a transgender woman.

According to his parents, it was at this time that he began expressing a desire to be a girl and to start taking puberty blockers. The mother insisted that her son was depressed at the time and was being bullied at school.

In 2023, the local youth welfare office permitted the 15-year-old boy to move out of his parents’ home into a residential group. „This group was actively supported by several transgender individuals,” Jacob stated.

Ultimately, by the end of 2025, the boy, with the help of the Child Welfare Office, sued his parents to be able to take puberty blockers.

These medications are intended to prevent the release of testosterone in boys and estrogen in girls, thereby limiting the changes that occur during puberty. The drugs can cause infertility and increase the risk of cancer.

According to the German lawyer, the disadvantages of gender transition therapy were never communicated to the boy. „The medical situation is not as clear-cut as it has been presented to the child. The questioned medication is not even approved for adolescents,” he said.

He eventually managed to convince the judge by threatening to raise concerns about the judge’s impartiality. Following this, the judge indicated to the child and the welfare office that their application would likely be rejected, prompting them to withdraw it.

The boy involved in the Darmstadt case will soon turn 18, allowing him to take puberty blockers at his discretion.

However, the lawyer believes that the court proceedings—particularly a more nuanced and detailed explanation of the effects of the medications on the body—have made the boy reconsider his wishes.

The Darmstadt case is not isolated

„There are many similar cases. The child welfare offices take children away from their families and place them in residential groups. There, they receive one-sided counseling that supports transgender therapy,” Jacob said.

Many parents cannot afford to fight against this system in court. „It has been a long, exhausting, and expensive process,” he remarked.

Jacob added that he would like the state to intervene less in such sensitive medical issues, stating, „The welfare of children is the responsibility of the parents, not the state.”

„We must consider what is best for the child. This is a complex issue, and medical interventions are both controversial and irreversible,” said the lawyer, who also expressed feeling isolated from everyone involved—the youth authorities, the judge, and the court-appointed guardian.