Slovakia amended its constitution on Friday to enshrine two legal genders.

The newly approved amendment states that "the Slovak Republic recognizes only two genders, namely male and female, which are biologically determined."

The move has received harsh criticism from the opposition, who say it will harm the LGBTQ+ community in Slovakia.

The leader of the biggest opposition party, the progressive Michal Simecka, called the vote "shameful". Meanwhile, nationalist Prime Minister Robert Fico defended the amendment as "the best response to the collapse of Western societies, where progressivism and liberalism have been given priority."

In Friday's vote, ninety members of the National Council were in favor of the constitutional change, while seven members voted against it.

Adoption limited to married couples

With this political move, Bratislava also seeks to prioritize its national law over European Union level law when it comes to gender policy.

The new rule also establishes that only married couples can legally adopt children.

This makes it virtually impossible for same-sex couples to adopt, since a 2014 constitutional amendment — also pushed by Fico — exclusively defines marriage as the union between man and woman.

Critics slam 'dangerous' precedent

According to Simecka, this amendment "will hurt the people of Slovakia and call into question Slovakia's place in the EU and its legal space."

Rights groups also condemned the move.

"This is one of the most dangerous decisions ever made by the Slovak parliament," wrote Slovak LGBTQ+ rights organization Inakost on a Facebook post.

"This amendment directly threatens our membership in the EU, bringing us even closer to authoritarian Russia," the group added.

Fico leads one of the few EU governments with close ties to the Kremlin. Within the last years, it has drawn Bratislava closer to Moscow and farther away from Brussels.

Fico's party self-identifies in theory as a social democratic party. However, outside from Slovakia, it doesn't belong to any European Parliament group, and it was suspended by the European alliance for social democratic parties in 2023.

Edited by: Zac Crellin