ANP
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News from the NOS•today, 07:00
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Should someone be able to change sex in the same passport at the city hall? The House of Representatives is looking into this question today. Parliament will discuss the so-called transgender law tonight.
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That law has been around for much longer and has already been loosened. Now the government wants to introduce further adjustments. Five questions and answers about it.
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1. What’s in the new law?
One of the most important changes concerns the sex stated on the birth certificate. The passport is issued on the basis of this act. Each passport contains the designation V (woman), M (man) or X (gender neutral). If you want to change that designation, you still need an expert statement. This will expire in the new law.
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A second important change concerns the age limit. Under the new law, even young people under the age of 16 can have their gender registration changed. It is not possible now. The law states that children must first go to court for this.
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Opponents of the law see this adjustment in particular as a problem. They point out that a child under the age of 16 is still under parental authority and believe that the child cannot make good decisions in this regard.
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Transgender organizations – and some parents – claim that many trans children in their daily lives already live by a gender other than their birth before age 16. According to them, the fact that the passport does not “prove” it only leads to difficult situations.
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Then a third adjustment was proposed and concerns the location. If you now want to adjust the registration, you have to do it in the municipality where you were born. The bill allows someone to go to the city hall in their place of residence.
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2. What does the new procedure entail?
It is important that the expert’s statement, which can be issued by a doctor or psychologist, is no longer needed. If the amendments are adopted by the House of Representatives, the declaration will be replaced by a reflection period of at least four weeks.
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Under the new law, a trans person sends the request to the municipality. Then begins the reflection period of at least 4 (and at most 12) weeks. Then someone comes to the town hall and the change is ratified. An adjustment does not mean that someone is prioritized over medical care in a gender clinic – this is completely separate from it.
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Transgender activists have long called for the abolition of the expert statement. They believe the declaration violates their right to self-determination. In addition, there are costs: a meeting with an expert costs around 250 euros, the declaration itself 65 euros. An assessment of the 2017 law also showed that experts cannot guarantee that the desire for exchange is sustainable.
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The new law also provides that a third or fourth adjustment must be made through the court.
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3. What preceded the bill?
As mentioned, the transgender law has a longer history. Before 2014, the law still provided that anyone wishing to adjust gender registration had to be sterilized. As a result, transgender people have become permanently infertile. That old law was applied from 1985 to 2014, and last year the cabinet apologized for it.
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The Council of State published an advisory report on the law last May. The advisory body concluded that the government had not adequately explained in the proposal why the age limit had to be lowered. The RvS was therefore not opposed to the limit, but considered the justification of the cabinet insufficient.
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The Panteia research agency also investigated the Dutch situation. Among other things, the agency investigated the gender neutral designation “X”.
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4. What about the ‘X’ designation?
Earlier this year, D66 Congresswoman Lisa van Ginneken tabled an amendment on the matter. She wanted the bill to also include that people could receive an “X” (gender neutrality) without the intervention of the judge. But this has become legally too complicated, so the State Council advised to submit a separate bill.
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Getting an “X” is already possible, but this must be agreed through the courts.
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5. How is it organized in other countries?
If the Netherlands adopts the amendment, they will not be the first country in the world. Argentina was the first to abolish the expert statement in 2012, Denmark was the first European country to follow in 2014. Ireland, Malta and Norway have already made changes.
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