The government of Argentina's president, Javier Milei, has decided to modify the gender identity law and prohibit sex change treatments and surgeries for trans individuals under the age of 18, which were previously permitted by a regulation approved by Parliament in 2012.
In a statement, Milei's government stated that the extreme application of gender ideology on children through force or psychological coercion constitutes child abuse. The statement emphasized that trans children lack the cognitive maturity necessary to make decisions about irreversible processes that can have serious consequences for their physical and mental health, such as the mutilation of healthy organs, infertility, cardiovascular problems, and other complications.
Additionally, it was announced that the transfer of trans individuals from one prison to another after a gender change would be prohibited, as a convicted person will not be able to request to be transferred to a women's prison solely based on self-identification as such. This measure was taken after a case in the province of Córdoba where a convicted individual for crimes involving gender violence, upon claiming to be a woman, was transferred to a women's prison where he abused other inmates.
The presidential spokesperson, Manuel Adorni, explained that the current Gender Identity Law allowed individuals under 18 to access hormone treatments and surgeries to align their bodies with their identified gender, provided they had parental or judicial consent in case of dispute. However, it is considered that this poses a grave risk to the physical and mental health of minors, as it interferes with their maturation process and leads to irreversible effects in many cases.
Adorni cited examples from countries like the United Kingdom, Sweden, and the United States, which have changed their approach to gender treatments in minors, deeming them risky with devastating long-term consequences. It was highlighted that the measure taken by Milei's government seeks to protect the best interests of the child and ensure the physical and mental integrity of minors, putting an end to child abuse linked to a gender agenda and preventing situations of manipulation and exploitation by criminals.
