Norway considers allowing six-year-olds to change genders
Posted May 20, 2016 1:39 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A proposed Norwegian bill is aiming to make changing genders so easy, even a first-grader could do it.
The Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services is considering simplifying the process to filling out a form and submitting it to a local service office, according to Norwegian news organization TheLocal.No.
The bill is attempting to eliminate current requirements of psychiatric exams, hormone treatments and mandatory sterilization for legal gender change.
Norway’s Health Minister Bent Høie says the proposed bill is in accordance with modern human rights.
“Norway is in the forefront when it comes to LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) rights. But our current system for changing legal gender is unacceptable and has been unchanged for nearly 60 years.” Høie said in a statement.
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The bill is also proposing to lower the required age for gender reassignment from 18 to 16 and to allow children as young as six to choose their gender as long as both parents approve.
If parents don’t agree, Norwegian authorities will make a decision “in the child’s best interest.”
The legislation is expected to be passed by Norway’s parliament in the next few weeks.
Canada recently made a similar update to gender changes, eliminating having to prove gender reassignment physically.
Applicants in Ontario only need to meet criteria of changing sex designation on their birth certificates and paying processing fees, which are outlined in detail here.
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