Sweden suspends forced sterilizations

Eugenics is the practice of interfering (often coercively) in human reproduction to encourage or discourage certain traits from being passed along to offspring.

Reports from Sweden this week indicate suspension of a 40-year old Swedish law, requiring transexuals to

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divorce their spouses and undergo involuntary sterilization. Enacted in 1972, the law had been imposed by Swedish authorities on those seeking to change their legal identities following sex change surguryd

The forced sterilization of transgender men and women was officially banned on Jan. 10. After appeals were made by the European Convention on Human Rights, the law was deemed unconstitutional.

Transgender women and men who underwent sterilization procedures in order to have their new identity made official are now asking the government to provide compensation for emotional and financial damages they may have endured at the hand of the 1972 law. As reported in examiner.com, “The head of the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights (RFSL) Ulrika Westerlund commented: ‘If lawmakers take the initiative to adopt a law outlining damages, we will not file a lawsuit.’ Sterilization is not a topic to be taken lightly. Many people wrongfully assume that if someone undergoes a sex change they cannot or do not want to have children. In fact, attitudes toward parenting within the transgender community are quite diverse and continue to change as views and definitions of the concept of family itself continue to evolve and change. organization like transparentcy.org provide information and resources on the issue.

 

Full story at: http://www.examiner.com/article/transgender-forced-sterilization-ban-sweden-effective-jan-10