Gender Recognition Bill [HL]

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 2:00 pm on 29 January 2004.

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Photo of Lord Turnberg Lord Turnberg Labour 2:00, 29 January 2004

My Lords, that can mean a variety of things. The noble Lord is talking about a person's sex. That you may define biologically if you so wish—that is determined by" and Y chromosomes—but even that is not distinct. Some people are born with two"s and a Y. In any event it is not as clear cut as the noble Lord suggests.

I am talking now about the people who have gone through the process and have decided at long last after a long struggle that they are another sex than the one they had at birth. When they accept the need to change, it takes enormous courage. It is not a trivial pursuit. Then they have to go through an elaborate and searching set of procedures over a prolonged period of time. That, again, is not trivial. These are the people we are talking about who have made enormous sacrifices. I can see absolutely no reason why such individuals, having already made an irrevocable decision, should be deprived of the status and rights that this Bill would allow them. I am afraid that I cannot support the noble Lord's amendments.