Gender Identity Law Bill: Activists respond to its misleading arguments
Activist responses to the PRO and La Libertad Avanza representatives' bill against the pioneering spirit of Argentina's Gender Identity Law. What are the crucial points they are seeking to change with deceptive rhetoric to defund rights?
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Activists, families, and health professionals condemned the bill introduced by representatives from the PRO (Progressive Party) and La Libertad Avanza (LLA) parties, which seeks to amend the Gender Identity Law . With an approach that pathologizes trans identities, it seeks to eliminate state coverage for gender-affirming interventions and prohibit treatments for people under 18.
The bill is titled "Modifications on the Limits of the State's Role in Relation to the Sovereignty of Individuals over Their Own Bodies." It was introduced by representatives Gerardo Milman (PRO), Lilia Lemoine, and Carlos Raúl Zapata (LLA) on July 14, the eve of the 15th anniversary of the Equal Marriage Law.
What the project seeks to change and why its arguments are false
1- Remove state coverage for gender-affirming treatments
In the first article, the bill excludes gender-affirming medical, hormonal, or surgical treatments from the Mandatory Medical Plan (PMO). This implies eliminating state coverage for these treatments, meaning their free status. "Anyone over 18 can make decisions about their own body, but not with everyone's money," said the bill's author, Milman, in a post on X titled "Let Common Sense Return" in capital letters, in which he tagged President Javier Milei and libertarian leader Agustín Laje.
The myth about costs
“The bill lacks data on how much has actually been spent on therapies and surgeries since the law was passed. It also lacks data on how much it cost taxpayers and members of social security and prepaid health plans to cover the costs of caring for the trans population in terms of failed suicides, the disposal of bodies from industrial silicone, cancer treatments caused by self-medicated hormone therapies, and other practices that occur when there is no proper medical supervision. These practices likely generated higher costs than those covered by the gender identity law,” lawyer, professor, and trans activist Cristina Montserrat Hendrickse Presentes
2- Prohibit treatments in adolescents
In the second article, the bill prohibits hormone treatments and gender-affirming surgeries for persons under 18 years of age. This is in line with Decree 62/2025, published in February of this year , which has garnered complaints and injunctions across the country. In the City of Buenos Aires, a ruling successfully halted it in this jurisdiction .
What the evidence says about treatments
“The treatments that are generally started at puberty are hormone blockers (medications that halt or delay the development of physical changes associated with puberty). Not all trans adolescents need or request them. They are started around the age of 12 or 13 for trans boys and around 13 or 14 for trans girls. They are reversible and are not used for more than one or two years. They are approved by the FDA (the United States Food and Drug Administration), meaning they are medically supported medications based on the benefits they provide,” Dr. Fabiana Reina, a specialist in gynecological endocrinology, certified in pediatric and adolescent gynecology, and member of the Trans-Formando Familias ,
Hormone treatment, on the other hand, begins later. "At 15 or 16 years old in adolescents. It's also reversible. It's performed on people who are fully medically monitored. They have no risk factors, and it can be beneficial for the individual. We never work alone: we work in multidisciplinary and comprehensive teams and with families," he explained.
3- Pathologizing trans children and adolescents, and restricting registration changes
Article 2 of the bill also restricts the possibility of making the registry change to adolescents and children, as it requires, in addition to the consent of parents or guardians, the validation of an interdisciplinary team composed of a general practitioner, a psychiatrist, and a psychologist.
Against the spirit of the Gender Identity Law
Argentina's Gender Identity Law, passed in 2012, was the first legislation of its kind in the world that does not pathologize trans people. It does not require a medical, psychological, or psychiatric certificate to prove a person's identity and the subsequent change. The bill, promoted by representatives from the PRO and LLA parties, contradicts the spirit of the law by requiring validation by health professionals.
“ Going back to the point of having a medical board so other people can approve or not whether a trans child or adolescent can have the right to a name and an ID is unconstitutional and forces us to once again suffer expulsion, violence, persecution, discrimination, rejection . It's throwing them back into the prostitution system, expelling them from the education system, as has been done historically,” Gabriela Mansilla, mother of Luana, the first trans girl to access a corrected ID in Argentina without having to take the case to court, Presentes
4- Annul the mandatory use of the self-perceived name
The bill also attacks Article 12 of the Gender Identity Law, which stipulates dignified treatment. The current law states: “The gender identity adopted by individuals, especially girls, boys, and adolescents, who use a first name other than the one stated on their national identity document must be respected.” In contrast, Article 3 of the bill states that “the State may not impose on any person, educational institution, company, or entity the mandatory use of a name other than the one stated on their national identity document, nor sanction anyone who exercises their freedom of expression or conscience in disagreement with certain cultural or ideological constructs.”
Dignified treatment is a right
In its first article, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights expresses the principle of equality in dignity and rights: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and, endowed as they are with reason and conscience, they should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
“Treating each other with dignity, because of our name, is not an anecdote, but a fundamental fact that structures our lives, ” highlighted trans activist Alba Rueda, former Special Representative of Argentina on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, on the program La Patria de las Moscas on FM En Tránsito .
4- Prohibit gender-sensitive education
Article 4 of the bill does not amend the law, but adds Article 14 bis: "Educational materials, campaigns, talks, or mandatory content that directly or indirectly promote self-perceived gender identity may not be included in compulsory education levels or in state public service organizations without the prior informed consent of the parents or legal guardians of minors."
The freedom to deny existence
In this article, the bill attacks the diversity axis of Comprehensive Sexuality Education. It also attacks the role of the State in promoting universal public policies, which in this case would be under the "tutelage" of parents. In its grounds, the law speaks of "protecting the freedom of the population." Furthermore, it obliges the State to refrain from disseminating "ideological constructs about gender or sexuality," denying diverse existences.
5- Restrict the free provision of rectified DNI and cancel its cross-recognition
Article 5 seeks to repeal the second paragraph of Article 10 of the law, which requires the National Registry of Persons (RENAPER) to report changes to government agencies. "They will be free only in cases of extreme socioeconomic vulnerability, duly accredited," states Article 6 of the bill.
Without cross-recognition
This weakens “institutional articulation and transversal recognition of identity,” warned the Argentine LGBT Federation .
"The bill represents an unacceptable setback in human rights, as it seeks to dismantle a law internationally recognized for its pioneering nature and for guaranteeing the right to the free development of gender identity," the organization denounced in a statement .
6- Repeal provisions that contradict “state neutrality”
Article 7 repeals everything in the Gender Identity Law that contradicts a series of principles: state neutrality, no cultural imposition, no compulsory funding, and respect for freedom of expression.
The State must protect, not encourage hatred
“The State is not neutral. It must adhere to the ideological framework of the Constitution, which enshrines the State's duty to protect health, non-discrimination, diversity, and freedom of expression (which includes the expression of gender identity). By ratifying and approving the Pact of San José de Costa Rica, Argentina committed itself before the international community to prohibit by law all advocacy of hatred against any person or group of people, for any reason. And the bill, conversely, seeks to enshrine its legality,” reflected lawyer Hendrickse Montserrat.
“Many say this bill won't pass, but even one of these articles being passed is already a huge loss for us,” warned activist Rueda. “It's a fascist bill based on these prohibition measures. The narrative is that there's no money for hormonal treatment, but it's not money they're after: they're trying to instill a sense of hate in Argentina.”
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