He 17 October 2024 the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil (STF) unanimously ratified the determination that the Unified Health System (THEIR) modify your platforms so that trans people can access consultations, exams and procedures according to your specific needs. Before this decision, trans women who changed their name in the civil registry to reflect their gender identity could not request prostate exams and trans men, in the same boat, were denied gynecological or obstetric appointments.
The recent decision also challenges cisheteronormativity and the binary sex system-
gender in the field of health by demanding from the Unified Health System (THEIR) that in addition to
the category of “mother/parturient” that is assigned for cisgender women in the Declaration of Live Birth (procedure for making a civil registry), categories are added: “legal responsible/parturient”, for trans men and non-binary people who also gestate and give birth to their children. This guarantees the adequate recognition of the family bond of trans people, as well as respect for their gender identity. Regarding protection of the right to health, This ruling joins the one already issued by the STF that requires respect for the social name of trans people who access both the clinical and administrative services of the Unified Health System.
At the trial hearing, magistrates reiterated that the Ministry of Health must update SUS systems to guarantee full access to health care for the population trans population, without the imposition of bureaucratic barriers that, In addition to compromising your own effectiveness, can cause discrimination and suffering for trans people. It was also highlighted that guaranteeing the right to medical care in the SUS in accordance with the physiological needs of people, allowed equal access conditions with the rest of the Brazilian citizens.
Paulo Iotti, member of the LGBTI+ Litigators Network of the Americas and lawyer participant in the litigation explains that the recent ruling of the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil is of utmost importance for physical health, psychological and social of people Brazilian trans, both to guarantee your access to services and to eliminate rigid options based on SUS cisheteronormative criteria that prevented trans people, in practice, had necessary consultations for their health. Only this one way respect for the social name of trans people can be guaranteed.
He also ensures that recognizing that trans men, trans masculine people or Non-binary people also gestate and give birth to babies, They should be identified respectful of their gender identity. The decision, therefore, guarantees full protection and acceptance of trans people in the Unified Health System in Brazil, surpassing bureaucratic obstacles that prevented it.
We celebrate this judicial victory that facilitates people's access to health! trans in Brazil! We will be vigilant of its implementation by the System Unique Health. We also congratulate Paulo Iotti and the other groups and LGBTIQ+ organizations that made this important advance possible not only for Brazil, but also for the region.
Read more about the case at: The Union's failure to ensure adequate access to healthcare
for transgender and transvestite people
