Jeremy Vine and Baroness Hale

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Baroness Hale on radio 2 atm.

Jeremy Vine just asked her whether a male who has not had any surgery should be able to identify as female, and whether the law should get involved.

Baroness Hale said this is currently a legal requirement to get a new birth certificate. Is that true?

Great to hear the question being asked.

@Cailleach1

JR: We know have a different debate, about whether somebody who was born with a a male body (sic) can identify as female without having had any physical transition. Do you think the law should get involved in that?

LH: Well, the law is involved in the sense that the law, at present, lays down a specific process which does involve medical intervention in order to be able to get a new birth certificate and be recognised for all legal purposes in a new gender.
But of course that is not required for all sorts of self identification. People can do that without having to go through that process. It is a complex question as to how, and whether, the law should be changed and I certainly don't want to express any particular view on it.

So, Vines initial question was about identifying as female without any physical transition. Hale's answer that the process as laid down in law involved medical intervention . Only insofar as a doctor is needed to write a report. Put a medic's pen on paper or digits on computer buttons.

One would infer from that that this medical intervention involved physical transition, when a male needs to do sweet fa physically to be regarded in law as a woman; for all intents and purposes. if you were listening to that you'd think medical involvement vis a vis a physical 'transition' was a requirement of the legal process.

Thank you for this!

@Cailleach1 100% agree. Thanks for unpicking exactly what this meant. I’m pretty clued up on this issue but even I was confused.