Lawmakers in Germany on Friday approved a law to make it easier for transgender, intersex, and nonbinary people to change their name and gender in official records. 

Under Germany's current so-called "transsexual law," expert evaluations and a court decision are necessary if someone wants to change their gender. Opponents say this is invasive, forcing people seeking a change to undergo a psychological assessment and often intimate questioning.

What happened in parliament?

The law, supported by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-party coalition and the socialist Left Party, eventually passed on a vote of 374 to 251.

The Bundestag debate was both contentious and sometimes emotional.

"As trans people, we experience time and again that our dignity is made a matter of negotiation," Green lawmaker Nyke Slawik, herself a transgender woman who changed her legal gender, told parliament.

"For more than 40 years, the 'transsexual law' has caused a lot of suffering [...] and only because people want to be recognized as they are," Sven Lehmann, the government's LGBTQ+ commissioner, told lawmakers. "And today we are finally putting an end to this."

What is the Self-Determination Act?

Under the current transsexual law, people may officially change their first name and gender only after they have been assessed by two psychiatrists and a court has given permission.

The Self-Determination Act would allow these changes to be made in a simple procedure.

Gabriel Nox-Koenig, from the German transgender advocacy association Trans*, told DW that the new law meant trans people were far less likely to suffer instances of everyday discrimination.

"You have to imagine not to be able to pay with your [debit] card in a store, not to be able to go to your doctor with your insurance without being accused of fraud or, depending on the situation, having the police called on you," said Nox-Koenig. "This is something that happens to trans people very regularly in Germany now."

"With the new law, people can change their name and gender marker much more easily and these day-to-day discrimination situations will change." 

The draft defines a trans person as someone who does not identify with the gender they were assigned at birth, or not solely with that gender.

The new law would also apply to those who do not identify exclusively as male or female, termed nonbinary people.

The law would require people to inform registry offices three months in advance of the changes to be made.

In the case of those under the age of 14, only the legal representative of the person would be able to lodge an application. Those over 14 can file one themselves with the approval of their legal representatives. If the approval is not given, a family court can approve the changes if the official gender and name changes "do not go against the child's well-being."

The new legislation would allow the operators of facilities such as gyms and changing rooms for women to continue to decide who has access to them.

With the new law, Germany would be following the example of Spain, which in early 2023 passed a law allowing people over 16 years of age to change their legally registered gender without any medical supervision.

What are the criticisms of the law?

The law has come under fire from conservatives and most notably from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has said it will allow people to arbitrarily change their genders.

The Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party of the opposition conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), is one grouping that opposes changes to the current law.

The CSU's spokeswoman on family affairs, Dorothee Bär, told broadcaster ARD that the law "was not thought through from start to finish" and would "lead to many upheavals in families."

Bär said those wishing to change their official gender should be obliged to have counseling first, saying the new legislation would open "the way to abuse."

She did, however, concede that applicants for gender change should not have to face "humiliating" questions such as those about "sexual preferences and such things." But Bär said the people concerned had to be shown clearly what consequences their decision would have.

The deputy chair of the conservative CDU/CSU bloc, Andrea Lindholz, told broadcaster WDR 5 that the new law could be abused for criminal purposes, as it no longer required those changing their names and genders to register them with police.  

"If someone really wants to, they have it very easy in future," said Lindholz. "They look for a new place to live, they go to the registry office, they change their gender and name, and then they have a new identity."

Double names for married couples

During Friday's session, the Bundestag also approved a law giving married couples and their children more freedom to choose and change their last names.

The vote was carried by a large majority against opposition from the far-right AfD.

Currently, married couples in Germany must choose a joint family name for both spouses. If they do not do so, they retain the surnames they had before the marriage.

The new law allows married couples to take a double name made up of their combined last names, usually, but not necessarily, joined with a hyphen.

This double name will also be the birth name of any children born to the couple, unless the parents have decided on a birth name.

In the case of a divorce, children will be able to change their name if one of the parents does. Up to now, children have had to keep the name they had at birth even if they live with a parent who has dropped the married name, unless a court decided this went against the child's well-being.

The law also contains provisions for ethnic minorities in Germany. Frisians, for example, can give children a birth name derived from the first name of a parent, such as "Jansen" if the father's first name is "Jan."

 tj/wd (AFP, dpa, AP)

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