Is There any Validity to the Sterilization Requirement of the Gender Recognition Act for Transgender Persons?

Abstract

    Laws that allow transgender people to change their gender on official documents registered at birth are called gender recognition laws. Historically, however, many of the world's gender recognition laws have required trans people to be sterilized. The sterilization requirement was “exported” to the rest of the world after it was included in Sweden's 1972 law, the world's first gender recognition act. Although it has become common knowledge worldwide that such a requirement is a violation of human rights, such as bodily integrity, the right to a private life, and the right not to undergo unwanted medical procedures, the sterilization requirement remains a part of Japan's Act on Special Cases in Handling Gender Status for Persons with Gender Identity Disorder. This study examines the ethical validity of the sterilization requirement in transgender gender recognition acts. To this end, we will examine each of the five reasons that have been used to justify the sterilization requirement, recognizing that this requirement not only (1) requires sterile status, but also (2) uniformly requires sterilization for those seeking gender recognition, thus forcing surgery on those who do not wish to undergo it. The five reasons are the stability of law and order, welfare of the child, the trans person's own wishes, sexual ethics, and eugenic reasons. The results of our study show that not only are these reasons intrinsically lacking in validity, but they also cannot serve as reasons to force sterilization uniformly on trans people seeking gender recognition, especially those who do not wish to undergo the surgery. In conclusion, the sterilization requirement is inexcusable and must be eliminated soon.