Government to approve transsexual rights law 02/06/2006 00:00

2 June 2006

MADRID – The Spanish cabinet of ministers was due on Friday to give the green light to a proposed law on transsexual rights.

The planned legislation, which Justice Minister Juan Fernandez Lopez Aguilar already announced in parliament early May, would allow individuals diagnosed as transsexuals to change their sex and name.

The transsexuals would not have to have had a sex change, but would have to have been diagnosed by a doctor and have taken the initial hormone treatment to change their external appearance to their stated sexual identity.

The government had promised to legislate before the end of this month.

In a note prepared for government ministers, the justice department argued the reform would be "clear, brief, concise and aiming to avoid confusion in the face of a social reality which produces great suffering to the people affected".

If the law goes ahead, transsexuals will be able to have their sex and name changed in the civil register.

Spain would join countries like the UK, Sweden, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey which have already introduced similar laws.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news