Finland to allow gender reassignment without sterilization

[March 04, 2023]  COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Finland will allow transgender people to change their legal gender at their own request and without undergoing sterilization, new legislation signed by the Finnish President confirmed on Friday.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2017 that requiring sterilization in order for individuals to change the sex on their birth certificate is a violation of human rights.

Finland's new law will enable people above the age of 18 to legally determine their gender through a self-declaration form, and is meant to reinforce the protection of the right to self-determination and to reduce discrimination, the ministry of social affairs and health said.

Medical examinations and sterilization will no longer be required to legally change one's gender, it added.

On Friday, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto ratified the new legislation which is will enter into force on April 3.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto speaks during a news conference with U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (not pictured) at the president's official residence Mantyniemi in Helsinki, Finland, February 24, 2023. Lehtikuva/Antti Hamalainen via REUTERS

The Czech Republic, Latvia, and Romania currently require individuals to undergo sterilization before legally changing their gender, according to Transgender Europe (TGEU).

(Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen, editing by Anne Kauranen and Christina Fincher)

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