Norway set to make changing gender easier with ‘breakthrough’ bill

People who want to change gender in Norway may no longer be required to undergo any surgery or physical transformation if a ground-breaking healthcare bill gets the go-ahead.

 

Since the 1970s, gaining official gender reassignment in Norway has involved psychiatric exams, hormone treatment and surgery resulting in irreversible sterilisations.

 

But Norway’s health ministry has now proposed scrapping existing procedures and allowing people to legally change their gender by filling out a form and sending it to their local tax office, according to the English-language Norwegian news site thelocal.no.

 

In a statement, Norwegian health minister Bent Høie said: “Norway is in the forefront when it comes to LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] rights. But our current system for changing legal gender is unacceptable and has been unchanged for nearly 60 years. This proposal is in accordance with human rights.”

 

Read More: Norway set to make changing gender easier with ‘breakthrough’ bill | Europe | News | The Independent