Legislative Proposal for the Real and Effective Equality of Trans People

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In 2021, Spain’s Congress debated a bill called the Legislative Proposal for the Real and Effective Equality of Trans People (122/000133). The proposal aimed to change how people legally change their gender from a medical process to a simple declaration, lowering the minimum age to 16. It would also recognize non-binary identities, give trans people access to assisted reproduction, and strengthen intersex rights by banning gender-assignment surgeries on infants.

The bill was proposed by Irene Montero, the Minister for Equality, after consultations with more than 20 LGBTQ+ and trans groups. On May 18, 2021, it was rejected in the parliament by a vote of 78 in favor, 143 against, with 120 abstentions.

Support and opposition reflected political tensions. Unidas Podemos and other coalition allies backed the bill, while the People's Party, Vox, the Navarrese People's Union, and the Asturias Forum voted against. The PSOE abstained. The move was seen by some commentators as exposing a rift in the governing PSOE-Podemos coalition, since Podemos pushed the proposal but PSOE did not support it. Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo publicly spoke against the bill and later abstained from the vote.

International rights groups supported the bill. Human Rights Watch called the failure a missed opportunity, while Trans Rights Europe and other LGBTQ organizations also backed it. On March 10, Plataforma Trans held protests in front of Parliament in support, with some members threatening a hunger strike if the government did not act. The Catholic Church and Confluencia Feminista opposed the bill. In April 2021, opponents vandalized the Madrid LGBT+ federation offices due to its support for the proposal.