Greek Church says draft gender identity law must be scrapped

ATHENS, Greece – Greece’s powerful Orthodox Church is urging the left-led government to withdraw draft legislation that would allow free determination of gender identity, irrespective of how it was recorded at birth.

The Church of Greece’s governing body says that gender is something people are born with and cannot choose, adding that current laws fully address “existing problems.”

So far, Greeks who want to change how their gender is officially defined must prove they have had sex-change surgery, and undergo psychiatric assessment.

The proposed changes Parliament is due to vote on in the coming days allow changes in official gender designation to be carried out through a simplified and discreet court process.

The Church said in a statement Thursday that the draft law “defies customs and common sense, and, above all, destroys people.”