Trans children and trans parents in Spain two years after Law 4/2023: an overview

Abstract On 2 March 2023, Law 4/2023 for the full and effective equality of trans people and the guarantee of LGBTI rights came into force in Spain. This article focuses on the legal reforms that have impacted family law, with special attention to children and young people’s access to legal gender recognition within the same self-determination paradigm that is available to adults and the establishment of legal parenthood for trans people. The former, which was one of the most controversial topics during the parliamentary process, is permitted for children aged 16 years and over in the same conditions as for adults. Below that age, it is only allowed on the basis of specific age bands and subject to different requirements. The article links children and young people’s access to legal gender recognition to access the associated medical treatment, an issue that Law 4/2023 does not deal with and which raises relevant concerns, especially in relation to the autonomy of what are referred to as ‘mature minors’. Finally, with respect to the status of trans parents, the article presents the alternative terms to the concepts ‘mother’ and ‘father’ introduced by the new Law. The terminology overhaul is not only far from standardized, but also ushers in some major reforms to parenthood law, which are technically flawed.