Proposal that people 18 years of age or older can have gender reassignment surgery

In the draft Law on Gender Reassignment, the Ministry of Health proposed that the age allowed for gender reassignment surgery is 18 and up.

The draft law on gender reassignment raises 8 major issues for comments. Accordingly, the Ministry of Health proposes 3 options on the age of medical intervention for gender reassignment.: Age to use hormones is from 16 years old; gender reassignment surgery is from 16 years old; or from 18 years old and up to have gender reassignment surgery.

The draft law also sets out the conditions for being recognized as having changed gender. Specifically, option 1 allows individuals to be recognized after a psychological examination (according to the standard, having a desire to change gender), using hormones for a continuous period of time. Option 2 requires the additional condition of having undergone partial or complete surgery (breast or genital changes). Option 3 only requires a psychological examination, having a desire without medical intervention.

The recognition of gender reassignment for teacher Pham Le Quynh Tram once caused a stir in public opinion. Photo: Provided by the character.

Regulations on marital status before medical intervention, psychological identification for transgender people, conditions for medical facilities to perform gender reassignment interventions, payment of costs for performing gender reassignment techniques, etc. are also being considered by the Ministry of Health to be included in the draft law.

Dr. Nguyen Huy Quang, Director of the Legal Department, Ministry of Health, said that transgender people should be recognized in cases where hormones have been used or surgical interventions have been made such as breast or genital surgery. Cases without such medical intervention should not be recognized. This is to prevent cases where the mentality is not yet ready or people are evading the law, evading legal responsibility, or following the crowd. It is also consistent with the regulations that countries around the world are implementing.

According to Mr. Quang, it is necessary to stipulate that people aged 18 and older are allowed to undergo sex reassignment surgery, because people under 18 are not yet responsible for their civil actions and therefore do not have the awareness to know whether they have changed their gender or not. Parents also cannot intervene.

The draft law is in the process of consultation and seeking opinions. If it is included in the National Assembly's law-making program at the end of this year, the Ministry of Health will complete the detailed draft law to submit to the National Assembly for consideration in 2019, and at the earliest, it will be passed by the end of 2019.

According to statistics, the whole country has about 270,000-300,000 people who want to change their gender. Using hormones affects the health of the user, can cause illness or reduce life expectancy.

There are 61 countries in the world that allow gender reassignment, of which 38 countries in Europe require surgery to be recognized as a gender reassignment. This condition is similar in some Asian countries such as Japan, China, Singapore... Some countries allow gender recognition without surgery such as Korea, Taiwan, South Africa...

According to VNE