With the proposed law approved by the Spanish council of ministers, trans people will be able to request the change of their gender on their identity documents even without having undergone hormonal treatment and without presenting medical certificates. According to the government, this new rule guarantees people the “right to self-determination” of gender identity. The law, which will have to be approved by parliament, was promoted, among others, by the minister of equal opportunities, Irene Montero. The text of the law is the result of a long phase of negotiations that involved LGBT + associations and the various political realities in favor and against. A part of the feminist movement has opposed the law, arguing that the possibility of changing gender without having undergone any medical treatment risks depriving of meaning those laws and regulations that protect women precisely by virtue of belonging to the female biological sex. The debate also involved the center-left coalition in government: the socialist vice-premier, Carmen Calvo, spokesperson for the instances against the law, initially opposed the proposal supported by Irene Montero, a member of Unidas Podemos.
“Spain is now at the forefront of Europe,” government spokeswoman María Jesús Montero said at a press conference, supported by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez who expressed his approval on Twitter. “Our politics is feminist,” underlined Montero, who added that the new law “increases the chances of happiness for thousands of people.” Currently in Spain it is possible to ask for gender change on documents only after having undertaken hormonal therapy that leads to the alteration of secondary sexual characteristics, without the need to undergo sexual reassignment surgery. The new law would also eliminate the need for hormones and would also allow people who are starting the transition process to identify themselves with their gender.