Dutch Parliament demands end to transgender law; “Disturbing & Dangerous,” advocates say

The lower house of Dutch parliament, the Tweede Kamer wants the Cabinet to withdraw the transgender law within a month. The law has not been fully treated by the Tweede Kamer, but a majority is pushing for it to be withdrawn anyway. The law would make it possible for people to change their gender on their passport.

The motion to withdraw the law, supported by the coalition parties PVV, NSC, and BBB, led to outrage from other parties. Parties believe it is improper governance to withdraw the law without a comprehensive debate. If parties are against the law, they should have simply voted against it after the consideration, they believe.

The Tweede Kamer had already asked in the past not to continue with the transgender law. Franc Weerwind, who was the minister of legal protection at the time, refused to carry out the motion, which led to angry responses from the parties that had submitted it.

The current Cabinet also wanted to wait and see what the Tweede Kamer planned to do with the bill.

The SGP, which submitted the motion, is expecting a withdrawal message from State Secretary Teun Struycken (NSC, Legal Protection) soon. According to the SGP, it would have been "really irresponsible" if an expert statement and an age limit of 16 were no longer required to change the gender in the passport. At the same time, the party wants to "surround young people who have questions about their gender" with "care, love and attention.”

Ines Kostic, a member of Partij voor de Dieren, identifies as nonbinary and has been horrified by the motion. They think that the motion gives transgender people the feeling that politicians do not take them seriously.

Kostic was clearly emotional when the MP pointed out that transgender people have an increased rate of suicide attempts, and the debate about them has become even more robust after the election of U.S. President Donald Trump. “Their fear of more difficulties is high. But they want nothing more or less than simply to live their lives.”

The Dutch foreign ministry has issued a warning to transgender people planning on visiting the United States. “Take into account that laws and customs in the US towards LGBTQ+ people may differ from those in the Netherlands.”

Anybody filling in a visa to visit the U.S. must fill in their gender. The only options for this are man or woman.

The Transgender Netwerk thinks that the Tweede Kamer’s decision is disgraceful. The organization’s chair, Remke Verdegem, thinks it is a huge issue that parliament does not want to have a democratic debate about the issue. “Disturbing and a dangerous signal,” she said in response to the news.

“Now that countries like the U.S. are trying to eliminate transgender people, you would hope that the Netherlands supports us,” Verdegem said. “But the Tweede Kamer is completely abandoning transgender people.”