The Scottish Parliament has approved this Thursday the law that facilitates gender self-determination, an unprecedented milestone in the United Kingdom that has been mired in controversy throughout the process and has generated division within the Government and the Scottish National Party (SNP).
The law has gone ahead with 86 votes in favor and 39 against and, among other measures, reduces to 16 years the age at which a change of gender can be requested to the administration, eliminates the requirement to present a medical report and reduces to three months the time in which the applicant must have lived according to the gender claimed -six months in the case of a minor-.
The text also establishes a reflection period of three months for the applicant to change his or her mind, while persons who fraudulently request the change can be criminally charged and face up to two years in prison.
Critical voices against these changes have also been noted in the plenary session on Thursday, with cries of «shame» from the gallery of guests after the proclamation of the results of the vote, reports the BBC.
Nicola Sturgeon’s government argues that the new law improves an intrusive process for transgender people, while on the opposite side are voices like the writer J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter saga, under the premise that this law allegedly takes away women’s rights.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
