Vietnam may legalize sex change operations
HANOI - Vietnam is readying a proposal to legalize sex change operations for those deemed to be transsexuals after physical and psychological examinations, a senior health ministry official said.
"As written in the Civil Code, people have the right to identify their own sex," said Nguyen Huy Quang, deputy director general of the ministry's legislation department. "The new decree would ensure these rights."
He said doctors would have the final say on who qualifies for surgery.
"In Vietnam now, sex change is illegal," Quang said. "Once this decree comes into force, people will have a chance to change their sex after ... examinations by doctors who will decide what their actual sex is."
Quang said opinions would be sought from other ministries and government agencies on the proposal to legalize gender reassignment surgery before it is submitted to the government in September.
If the decree comes into force, the Health Ministry would consider which hospitals are capable of carrying out the complex operations, Quang told AFP.
"I think that some of them can do it, but we have to reconsider their ability in terms of equipment and professional ability," he said.
Agence France Presse - July 18, 2006
|