Spain’s Medical Societies Revolt Against Proposed Transgender Law

Leading medical institutions in Spain are speaking out against the newly proposed “Trans Law” that would allow minors to self-declare as transgender and access irreversible medical transition procedures.

Bernard Lane, a Sydney-based independent journalist, recently published two stories on his Substack, Gender Clinic News, about Spain waking up to “gender contagion” and the medical experts who are leading a “revolt” against it. 

According to Lane’s reporting, the second largest printed daily newspaper in Spain, El Mundo, published a story on its front page last week with the headline: “Psychiatrists explode against the Trans Law: It can bring a lot of pain and regret to many people.”

Sub-headings were translated as: “There is an avalanche of adolescents who believe they are trans and the majority are not”; and: “What do we do with someone whose penis has been severed and wants it back?”

Lane reports that the directors of Spain’s Society of Psychiatry, Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Society of Endocrinology were interviewed by El Mundo, voicing their fears and objections to the Trans Law.

“The draft Trans Law allows a change of sex in the registry from the age of 12 with judicial approval; from the age of 14 with parental support (but a judge can override parental refusal); and from the age of 16 independently,” Lane reported.

“The medical society directors all see a link between the bill for self-declared sex change and mistaken trans identity claims, neglect of underlying disorders, needless medicalisation and treatment regret,” he added.

The medical societies of Spain join the ranks of those in Sweden, Finland, and England, whose national health departments have all abandoned the “gender affirming” model of care after performing independent systematic reviews of the available evidence. 

Most recently, the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS) proposed new guidelines last week recognizing that children and adolescents identifying as transgender may be experiencing a “transient phase” and warning that doctors should not encourage them to change their names and pronouns, as “social transition” is not a “neutral act” and could have “significant effects” in terms of “psychological functioning.” Additionally, they have banned the use of puberty blockers in patients under 18, making exceptions only in certain cases for strict clinical trials.

Dr. Celso Arango, head of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry department at one of Spain’s leading public university hospitals, told El Mundo in an interview earlier this month that the hospital at which he works has seen an explosion in young people identifying as transgender.

“On a day-to-day basis at the Gregorio Marañón Hospital [in Madrid] we are assisting an explosion, a boom, an exponential increase in adolescents who say they are trans, and they are not,” Arango said.

Of the proposed new “Trans Law”, Arango was adamant it would bring a great deal of harm to youth mistakenly believing themselves to be transgender.

“This is madness, it’s going to hurt a lot of people, a lot of young people who have disorders think they’re going to fix them by becoming trans — when they’re not,” he said.

In addition to allowing minors to “self-declare” as transgender and access irreversible medical treatments, the law enacts a “conversion therapy” ban that would lead mental health professionals found guilty of its practice to face a maximum fine of €150,000.

A parent-led group called AMANDA has also been formed to advocate for medical professionals to proceed with caution when dealing with trans-identifying children, and now represents approximately 300 parents across Spain. Earlier this month, AMANDA protested in the Spanish capital with posters translating to “Less Surgery, More Psychology” and “Trans Law = Danger For Our Children.” 

Huge success of our presentation at the Medical Academy yesterday, with over 400 people attending including over 200 of our families and the support of @Icomem_Oficial and @CALDirector and most of the Feminist Movement. We are deeply grateful and pleased! 1/ #NoHayconsenso pic.twitter.com/Kmzpnou3Km

— Agrupación AMANDA (@Amanda_DGIR) October 9, 2022

Lane described the conflict between the trans rights groups in Spain who lobbied for the new law and their opposing parties. “The Socialists are caught between feminist opposition to self-declared gender identity — at odds with sex-based protections for girls and women — and the trans rights imperative of their populist-woke coalition partners Unidas Podemos, who oppose any delay,” said Lane.

Apparently, the division within the Socialist Workers’ Party of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has caused a “partial pause” to be placed on the draft law, allowing an additional week for amendments.

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