A proposal in Ecuador sparked a heated debate over how far parents can go when making medical decisions about their children.
Assemblywoman Diana Jácome promoted a reform that includes as grounds for the deprivation of parental authority cases in which parents promote medical, surgical, or pharmacological interventions aimed at modifying biological sex in a child or adolescent.
Jácome was blunt in defending the initiative: “Anyone who attempts to change a child’s biological sex will lose parental authority”.
The proposal includes an exception for medical interventions that are strictly necessary for people with intersex conditions.
The issue has generated controversy because it is not simply about changing a minor’s name or gender identity. The text specifically refers to medical, surgical, or pharmacological interventions aimed at modifying biological sex.
The measure is part of a broader reform related to adoption processes and the protection of children and adolescents. And there is a key point: it does not mean that a parent currently automatically loses their child for supporting a gender change. It is a legal provision that establishes grounds for the deprivation of parental authority, whose application requires the corresponding procedure.
The debate raises a particularly sensitive question: who should have the final say when medical decisions related to a minor’s sex and identity are made: the parents, doctors, the adolescent themselves, or the State?