Portugal president vetoes gender and name change law News
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Portugal president vetoes gender and name change law

President of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa vetoed [statement, in Portuguese] legislation Wednesday that would have made it easier for transgender citizens to change their gender and name on government documents.

Portugal’s parliament approved [JURIST report] the legislation [text, PDF, in Portuguese] April 13.

Under the legislation, individuals over age 16 would have been able to change their name and gender on official documents without submitting a medical report. The current law only allows individuals over 18 to change their name and gender and required a medical report.

In a letter sent to the assembly [text, PDF, in Portugese], the president asked for the law to maintain the requirement for a medical report in the case of minors.

Parliament can also override the veto of the law as it is currently written with an absolute majority vote. They initially passed the bill with 109 of 230.

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