The bill, which was passed by the Scottish government in December 2021, removes the need for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria in order to legally change one’s gender, moving the process to a ‘self-identification’ model that is intended to be less invasive and stressful for participants. The minimum age to change one’s gender is now 18 years old.
Scotland was the first nation in the UK to support self-identification laws. These laws have been adopted by many other countries, including Denmark, Ireland, and Argentina.
Alister Jack, the Scottish Secretary, stated that the UK government would stop the bill because of its “significant effect” upon UK equality law. It will invoke Section 35 from the 1998 Scotland Act to do so. This section allows the UK government to block a bill’s becoming law if it has an adverse effect on matters under the ultimate jurisdiction of the national government.
This is the first instance of the UK government using this power. Nicola Sturgeon described it as a “full frontal attack” on the Scottish Parliament. She stated that if this Westminster veto succeeds it would be the first of many.