Sweden and the UK curb trans policies while Spain supports its controversial laws

Posted On: June 14, 2023

Last Wednesday, the trans law was supported by an overwhelming majority in the Senate, with 144 votes in favour, 108 against and two abstentions. A controversial norm being let go differences even within the governing coalition itself, because historical feminists, including former vice president Carmen Calvo, vehemently oppose the accord. In fact, politics bypassed the discipline of PSOE voting in Congress and abstaining.

The passage of the Upper House of one of the flagship bills of the Ministry of Equality, led by Irene Montero, came after two European countries have put the brakes on trans policies. This is Sweden and England. Both impose themselves on ideology and call for “caution”.

Tensions between London and Edinburgh

In the case of Great Britain, the controversy has resulted in less than a constitutional crisis. Scotland passed in its parliament in Holyrood a new law that lowers the right to vote changing gender from 18 to 16 years. Similarly, it removes the requirement to present a medical report supporting gender dysphoria to attend registration.

This caused the British government led by Rishi Sunak to be forced to do so veto the rule “After careful and thorough consideration of all relevant advice and policy implications,” Alister Jack, Scottish Secretary of State, explained. In this way, the conservative executive has prevented the bill in Scotland from finally being ratified.

But the social debate about gender self-determination doesn’t end here, and the UK is embroiled in another scandal. This is the case of Adam Graham who, after raping two womenshe changed her name – now called Bryson Island – and began a transition, according to her own circle, defrauding the authorities and serving her sentence in a women’s prison.

Faced with this situation, Scotland’s own chief minister, Nicola Sturgeon – the promoter of the Scottish trans law mentioned above – had to come out and confirm that prisoners will live in men’s prisons for the next few years: «It is unacceptable to have female rapists in women’s prisons», emphasized the Scottish nationalist.

Back in Spain, the popular Jaime de los Santos remembered him last Wednesday in the Senate London’s only public transition clinic has closed and that there are “up to a thousand cases of trans people who say their lives are much worse”. “Are these thousands of British citizens transphobic dangerous or simply victims of laws like this which lack the necessary reflection?” De los Santos pondered.

Sweden suspends hormone treatment

The Swedish case is quite striking. Before the first country to recognize transgender identity, but in recent months has decided to improve and suspend hormonal treatment for minors. The reason, according to state authorities, the therapy has caused attention deficit, autism or eating problems, among other disorders.

Thomas Linden, head of Sweden’s health authority, acknowledged that “the uncertainty of knowledge about this issue prompts caution.” Data provided by doctors shows that cases of gender dysphoria have continued to increase, reaching around 8,900 cases between 1998 and 2021.

What has also caught the attention of Swedes is that, recently, the usual trend has been reversed and now more women are transitioning to men, causing the authorities to limit the practice of mastectomy in adolescents, surgery to remove the breast.