Government sponsored gender reassignment

  • 2008-07-11
  • In cooperation with BNS

VILNIUS 's TheLithuanian government paid a female citizen 40,000 euros to undergo a completegender reassignment surgery.

The surgery was completed abroad.

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

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

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

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

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

"I would expect more applications from Lithuania to follow, though I amnot aware of any yet," Baltutyte said.