The British government is considering blocking a new law that makes it easier for people in Scotland to legally change their gender — a move that would spark conflict with transgender rights advocates and the nationalist Scottish administration in Edinburgh.
The Financial Times reported Monday that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative administration was set to veto the Scottish law.
The government said no decision has been made but that it had concerns about the law, “particularly around safety issues for women and children.”
The law approved by the Scottish parliament last month allows people age 16 or older to change the gender designation on their identity documents by self-declaration, removing the need for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria.
It also cuts the time trans people must live in a different expressed gender before the change is legally recognised, from two years to three months for adults and to six months for people ages 16 and 17.
The law sets Scotland apart from the rest of the United Kingdom, where a medical diagnosis is needed before individuals can transition for legal purposes.