The Spanish Congress – the lower house - on February 16, 2023 approved two laws: the Law for the real and effective equality of trans people and for the guarantee of the rights of LGTBI people or the “trans law,” and the Organic Law on Sexual and Reproductive Health, on free abortion during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy and for minors from the age of 16 without parental consent.
MPs gave the green light to Senate amendments to the trans law, which will be signed by the head of state, King Felipe VI, and published in the Official Gazette. The same fate will be reserved for the new law on abortion.
Trans Law
The trans law, arguably the most permissive in the world, allows the change of sex in the civil register for those who are over 16, without any other condition than the will of the person. Minors between the ages of 14 and 16 can do so with the consent of their parents. In the absence of such consent, a legal guardian will be appointed to help the minor in his process.
Children between the ages of 12 and 14 will need to obtain legal authorization to change their legal sex. Children under 12 will not be able to change their gender, but they will be able to change their name “for reasons of sexual identity.” At school, they must “be treated in accordance with their identity in all educational activities.”
The simple will of the person being valid, no one is obliged to present a medical report, nor to receive medical or surgical treatment to modify his physical appearance.
Three Months to Ratify
Within a maximum period of three months, the person will be summoned to the registry to ratify his decision, and after one month the change of sex in the registry will be issued. After six months, the person who requested a change of sex on the registry can reverse the situation and return to their previous sex.
As for surgical treatments, the law prohibits them for minors under the age of 12 “except in cases where medical indications require it in order to protect the health of the person.” Surgical treatments for minors aged 12 to 16 will be authorized when said minors are considered mature enough to undergo the treatments.
Prohibited Therapies
The law prohibits any therapy or program “aimed at altering a person’s sexual orientation or identity or gender expression, even with the consent of the person concerned or their legal representative.”
Abortion Law
The new law provides that all women, including minors from the age of 16, can have an abortion during the first 14 weeks of gestation. It also provides for the possibility of aborting between 14 and 22 weeks of gestation for medical reasons such as malformations or possible risks to the health of the mother.
It removes the mandatory three days of reflection and grants sick leave for an abortion. In the event of a disagreement between a minor under the age of 16 and her guardians concerning the termination of pregnancy, the matter will be settled by a civil and emergency procedure.
The very progressive Spanish government pertinaciously applies its program which increasingly defies natural morality.
