Government sponsored gender reassignment

Jul 11, 2008
In cooperation with BNS

VILNIUS – The Lithuanian government paid a female citizen 40,000 euros to undergo a complete gender reassignment surgery.

The surgery was completed abroad.

The 30 year old woman won a case against the government in the European Court of Human Rights as the court ruled that the government had to enact a gender reassignment law or pay 40,000 for the person to have the surgery abroad.

The Lithuanian government missed the dealine to enact the law and thusly had to pay for the surgery.  

Reuters news agency quoted Elvyra Baltutyte, Lithuania's representative at the European Human Rights Court as saying "There is a lack of political will to take an action on the issue, and I do not know when there will be some."

"The whole sum has been already transferred, as no law was adopted," Justice Ministry's spokesman said.

The government drafted a law allowing gender reassignment surgery in Lithuania and presented it to parliament in 2003, but the bill has yet to be passed.

"I would expect more applications from Lithuania to follow, though I am not aware of any yet," Baltutyte said.

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