Scotland is taking legal action against the UK government's block on gender identity reforms, with the Scottish government announcing plans to proceed with their proposed changes to the Gender Recognition Act. The move comes after the UK government scrapped plans to make it easier for people to change their gender without a medical diagnosis legally.
Scottish Government's Gender Identity Reform
According to the Christian Post, the Scottish government's reforms would allow people to self-declare their gender without a medical diagnosis or evidence of living in their desired gender for a certain period. The reforms would also extend legal recognition to non-binary people.
Holyrood voted in favor of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill last December. This bill will make it simpler for individuals to change the sex listed on official documents by doing away with the requirement that they have a formal medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria. The new legislation will shorten individuals' time to demonstrate that they have been living as their preferred sexual identity from two years to just three months.
Moreover, the minimum age requirement to apply for a gender recognition certificate will be lowered from 18 to 16. In a step that has never been attempted before, the Scottish Secretary, Alister Jack, announced in January that Section 35 of the Scotland Act of 1998 would be utilized for the first time to prevent the bill from becoming law.
Shirley-Anne Somerville, Scotland's Secretary of Social Justice, argued against this viewpoint. She stated that the United Kingdom administration had failed to provide "adequate reason" for applying Section 35. She indicated that the Scottish government intended to seek judicial review "to preserve the democratic decision of the Parliament and ensure effective safeguarding of devolution."
Additionally, The Guardian stated that the proponents of the reforms hope they will simplify a procedure that many transgender people find to be intrusive and stressful. Still, they do not want it to affect the places or services that transgender people utilize daily.
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Scotland's Catholic Bishops Warn Against "Unsafe" Gender Recognition Reform Bill
La Croix International reported that the Catholic bishops in Scotland are urging parliamentarians to oppose the controversial Gender Recognition Reform Bill proposed by the Scottish government. The bishops claim the bill is "unsafe" and will likely cause harm to young people.
The Bishops' Conference of Scotland said in a statement that they are gravely concerned about the changes proposed by the Scottish Government's Gender Recognition Reform Bill regarding legislation that lowers the legal age at which people can change their gender and makes it easier for trans people to acquire a gender recognition certificate. This certificate legally recognizes that a person's gender is not the gender they were assigned at birth.
Also, they stated that the children need to be shielded from the possibility of making irreversible, legally binding assertions about their gender, which could result in irreversible, elective medical procedures such as surgery. More children and young people will be led down this path due to lowering the minimum age from 18 to 16 and introducing a system of self-identification.
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