Italy and Chile Advance Bills Limiting Gender-Affirming Care for Minors

Italy’s right-wing government approved a draft law that would tighten access to gender-affirming medical care for minors. The measure, which still needs parliamentary approval, would require treatments such as puberty blockers and feminising or masculinising hormones to follow new health-ministry protocols and, in the interim, secure clearance from a national ethics committee of paediatricians. It also calls for the Italian Medicines Agency to establish a registry to monitor prescriptions and collect detailed patient data, a step criticised by transgender-rights advocates as intrusive and likely to delay care. On the same day in Santiago, a group of Chilean opposition lawmakers introduced a bill that would prohibit gender-affirming surgeries and hormonal treatments for anyone under 18. The proposal, backed by legislators Karen Medina, Diego Schalper, Mauro González, Sara Concha and Francesca Muñoz, frames the ban as a child-protection measure and threatens medical providers with criminal and civil penalties. Supporters argued that international studies highlight health risks, while critics warned the initiative would deny necessary care to transgender youth.