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Consultation by the Scottish Government on reform of the Gender Recognition Act 2004

Published: 28th February 2020

The Scottish Government is consulting on a plan to make the existing process to obtain legal recognition under the Gender Recognition Act 2004 a better service for those trans and non-binary people in Scotland who wish to use it.One proposal for streamlining is to remove the current requirement for a medical diagnosis, replacing it with a simple self-declaration process. A person's gender would be defined by their subjective, innate sense of identity, whether male, female or something else (non-binary), and may or may not correspond to the sex assigned to them at birth. Under the proposals, a person could apply to the Registrar General for Scotland after having lived in their acquired gender for a minimum of 3 months (rather than the current 2 years). After a further three-month period of reflection, the applicant would be required to confirm their intention to live permanently in their acquired gender and swear to that effect in front of a notary public or a justice of the peace. Registration would give legal status to their self-declared gender identity and the right to update their birth certificate and other documents accordingly. CMF opposes the move to a self-declaration model, not because we wish to endorse the assessment model in its current form, but because we believe the proposed change would lead to a worse outcome. Our submission to the consultation can be found here.

For further information:

Steven Fouch (CMF Head of Communications) 020 7234 9668

Media Enquiries:

Alistair Thompson on 07970 162 225

About CMF:

Christian Medical Fellowship (CMF) was founded in 1949 and is an interdenominational organisation with over 5,000 doctors, 900medical and nursing students and 300 nurses and midwives as members in all branches of medicine, nursing and midwifery. A registered charity, it is linked to over 100 similar bodies in other countries throughout the world.

CMF exists to unite Christian healthcare professionals to pursue the highest ethical standards in Christian and professional life and to increase faith in Christ and acceptance of his ethical teaching.