In Finland, sterilization is no longer mandatory for reassignment on a birth certificate. Finns who have turned 18 will now be able to make changes to official documents. Most European countries have already abolished forced sterilization.
The legislation changed after the decision of the European Court of Human Rights. In 2017, the Court ruled that the obligation to sterilize was a human rights violation. Finland is the last Scandinavian country where sterilization is still mandatory.
Sophie Schers, political adviser to the Dutch Transgender Network, describes the change in the law as a big step forward. “Finland was really lagging behind the rest of Europe here.” The Finnish state stipulated that the change could only be made in the event of medical intervention. “In that sense, the bodies of mentally competent people were in control of the state,” Schers says.
In other countries, the number of changes in gender registration increased after such a change in the law. Schers expects that gender reassignment surgery will now become more accessible to many Finnish transgender people.
Sterilization still required
Since the court decision, many countries have changed their legislation. In 2017, sterilization was still mandatory in 22 countries, including Belgium and Luxembourg. This is the situation in seven countries now.
Legislation for transgender persons has not been determined at European level. For example, various European countries such as Poland and Hungary further restricted the rights of trans people. For example, Hungary made the name change impossible.
“The trans rights movement is really twofold,” Schers says. “There’s also a clear push back. We’ve seen that not everything is rosy in Finland, either. This movement is an issue that we and similar organizations in Europe should be aware of. It is a threat to our rights.”
excuse me
The Netherlands abolished the sterilization requirement in 2014, long before the decision of the European Court of Justice. In 2021, then-minister Van Engelshoven apologized to trans and intersex people who had to undergo forced sterilization or sex reassignment surgery.
Currently, sex change on the birth certificate is possible only with expert opinion from the age of 16. This could be a psychiatrist, doctor or psychologist. A bill to make official gender reassignment without a third party in the passport is currently before the House of Representatives.
Source: NOS
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
