Today I encountered a campaign to end Sweden’s sterilization requirement for transgender individuals to have their preferred gender recognized (complete with poignant video). I would urge everyone, particularly anyone reading from Sweden or Europe, to sign the petition. I did a bit more digging, and found this astonishing paper from the Council of Europe.

Some countries require surgery leading to sterilisation before they legally recognise the new gender. It should be stressed that this requirement would also apply in the absence of a medical necessity or the applicant’s wish for such surgery.

That doesn’t include divorce and medical requirements for recognition and name change.

I would write more but I would have to pick my jaw up off of the keyboard. Forced sterilization is the sort of thing one associates with the darker days of European and American history.

Forced sterilization by the state has no place in the twenty-first century. Anywhere. For any reason. It’s an outrage to human dignity regardless of gender.