Legislation: Slovakia changes constitution: only two genders accepted

Slovakia has decided to amend a constitution that limits the rights of trans people and same -sex couples. “The Slovak Republic only recognizes two genders, namely male and female that are biologically given,” says the Basic Law of the EU Member State. 90 MPs from the National Council in Bratislava voted for the change, as the Tasr news agency reported on Friday. There were seven votes against and no abstentions.

The left -wing nationalist Prime Minister Robert Fico presented the constitutional change in January. He followed a similar advance by US President Donald Trump.

The amendment, which is supposed to come into force on November 1, also provides that only married couples are allowed to adopt children, which in fact excludes same -sex couples, since there is no marriage for everyone in the country. Surrogate motherhoods are expressly prohibited.

Is there a new conflict with Brussels?

It is also proclaimed that decisions about “cultural-ethical questions” such as education, family life and language will only fall into the competence of national legislation in the future. Critics warned that Slovakia should conflict with the requirements of EU contracts. According to media reports, the Venice Commission, an organ of the European Council of the European Council in Strasbourg, had also critically commented in advance.

The result of the vote in the National Council was considered a surprise, because for a long time it had not looked like a majority for the draft. Ultimately, the government also helped the government.

Slovakia is considered to be strongly religious. In the last census in 2021, 55.8 percent of the almost 5.5 million inhabitants agreed on the Roman Catholic faith.