‘Detransitioners’ who regret changing their genders will describe their ordeal as they warn Scottish parliament against approving Sturgeon’s controversial trans reform plans
- Plans to make it easier to get gender recognition certificates have divided SNP
- Politicians will hear from two people – Sinead Watson, 31, and Ritchie Herron, 35
- The proposed reforms seek to lower the age limit for people to get a certificate
Two people who reversed their gender reassignment procedures will today raise fears about the SNP’s gender reform plans.
Plans to make it easier for trans people to get gender recognition certificates have divided Holyrood and sparked the biggest SNP rebellion they have faced in power.
Scotland’s politicians will today hear from two people who have expressed regret about their own gender reassignments and have voiced their concerns about the Scottish Government’s proposals.
The proposed reforms seek to lower the age limit for people to get a gender recognition certificate from 18 to 16, remove the requirement for medical involvement and reduce the time a person must live in their preferred gender from two years to three months.
Last month, former community safety minister Ash Regan quit the Government to vote against the general principles of the reforms, along with eight party colleagues.
Two people who reversed their gender reassignment procedures will today raise fears about the SNP’s gender reform plans. Pictured: Sinead Watson, a 31-year-old woman from Glasgow
Plans to make it easier for trans people to get gender recognition certificates have divided Holyrood and sparked the biggest SNP rebellion they have faced in power. Pictured: Ritchie Herron, a 35-year-old man from Newcastle
MSPs still passed the Bill at its first parliamentary hurdle, with MSPs now considering a vast array of proposed amendments.
Campaigning critics of the reforms, For Women Scotland, have now organised for two people who have detransitioned after gender reassignment surgery – Sinead Watson, a 31-year-old woman from Glasgow, and Ritchie Herron, a 35-year-old man from Newcastle – to address politicians about their experiences.
Miss Watson said: ‘The voices of detransitioners have not been heard either by the Scottish Government in developing its proposals, or by MSPs who are considering this draft legislation.
‘I am particularly concerned about the plan to allow children aged 16 and 17 to get a gender recognition certificate.
‘When I presented myself to a gender identity clinic, I felt so certain that medical transition was the only solution for me.
‘But now I wish that greater care had been taken to consider all my underlying issues.
Scotland’s politicians will today hear from two people who have expressed regret about their own gender reassignments and have voiced their concerns about the Scottish Government’s proposals
‘I believe that affirming children in their identity is dangerous and could lead them to make decisions about their bodies that they later regret, as I have.’
Mr Herron said: ‘There has been a lot of publicity about the huge increase in numbers of young girls identifying as transgender and it is good that NHS England has commissioned the Cass Review to look at this.
‘However, I am keen to tell MSPs about the experiences of young men who identify as transgender and later regret it.
‘I am particularly concerned about estimates that the number of trans-identified young men having gender reassignment surgery may soon outstrip the number of trans-identified young women having double mastectomies.
‘I was diagnosed with transsexualism after two short appointments and underwent medical and surgical interventions, which have left me with life-long side effects.
‘When I presented at a clinic, I was in a very vulnerable state and feel that this was overlooked.’
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