forced sterilization

[lady amarant]

Okay, so the fact that most (all?) of us end up sterile from HRT and/or surgery aside for the moment, is there a requirement in your state/country that you be sterile before your gender will be recognised?

I came across this in the news section but it struck me as important enough to merit a discussion thread.

http://questioningtransphobia.wordpress.com/2008/11/24/gender-recognition-and-sterilisation/

So I then dug around the links a bit, and this came up:

http://www.thelocal.se/13448/

In South Africa gender recognition is ostensibly linked to surgery, but there is some greyness in the wording of the law, making it possible to scrape through on long-term HRT and sympathetic medical professionals alone.

I had never given any thought to the question of sterilization, but yeah, it's frankly quite frightening. Procreation is one of the most fundamental, basic rights we have, not just as humans but as living creatures. To police that in the way described in the article ... I find that absolutely horrific. I mean, Nazi's are the last group of people I can think of who overtly policed who could have children and who couldn't.

Again, the question of whether I'd want to use ... that to have a child is something we can debate and argue till the cows come home, but for society to legislate that right away from me ... uh-uh.

ò_ó

~Simone.

[Sandy]

Here in the US, those states that recognize transsexuality, don't require TS's to be sterilized, however some states and the SSA require an affidavit which indicates the surgeries performed before they will change the gender on their records.  Some requirements are quite specific about the procedures performed to qualify for a gender change.  These are the standard procedures in SRS which will render the person sterile.

So in one respect, no, sterilization is not required.  You may present as any gender you choose.  However you cannot change the gender on your records without going through SRS (and sterilization) so in that case, sterilization is required.

I didn't see in either of the articles mentioned whether of not sperm/egg banking could be done prior to sterilization.  That is the recommendation given to transsexuals who have intentions of later procreation through artificial insemination.


Thomas Beatie, who by the way is only one of many, many, trans men who have been pregnant, probably can not get any of his records changed to male since he has obviously not had a hysterectomy.

-Sandy

[jenny_]

In Britain its not necessary to be sterile.  Its not even absolutely necessary to have had surgery before legally changing your sex.

Yeah, i don't think that any government should have these sorts of requirements, though the fact most of us will be sterile does kind of make it a moot point.

Though I do think its more significant for non-TS transgender people, since its just another example of governments enforcing a gender binary and defining what counts as a "proper woman" and "proper man".