People protesting against the Transgender Amendment Act 2026 at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. File | Photo credit: Sushil Kumar Verma
Health professionals across the country have raised concerns about the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Act 2026, saying it would “disrupt established treatment protocol”, adding that many could stop providing gender-affirming care “for fear of legal repercussions”.
In addition to narrowing the definition of who a transgender person is and removing the right to self-identify as a gender that automatically excludes many, the amendment includes an offense section that makes it a crime to “compel” to “present a transgender identity outwardly.”
Asked in Parliament on Wednesday (April 1, 2026) whether the Government was aware that the section would harm access to gender-affirmative care, BL Verma, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, said: “The provisions relating to forced conversions are intended to prevent abuse, coercion and exploitation, including cases of enforced bodily identity and legitimate bodily harm intended by sexual violence.” He did not specify what “legitimate” gender-affirming care means.
Doctors point out that the “language” used in the amendments could make gender-affirming care more inaccessible. Dr. Medha Bhave, president of the Indian Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (IAAPS), said: “Physicians fear that they could be sued by families if they oppose surgery, and that fear will lead many to stop providing gender-affirming care. When such barriers to access are created, some may choose to undergo dangerous procedures and quackery may increase.”
Dr. Bhave, who currently practices in Thane, recalls an incident in 1998, before gender-affirmative care was a law, saying, “I performed breast reduction surgery on someone prescribed to give birth to a woman who identified as male. The next day, the father came and shot me.” She added that similar incidents may become common again.
Meanwhile, at a government hospital, a doctor said it was “not clear” how gender-affirmative care would be provided. A doctor, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “No patient should be denied care. But mostly we accept patients who have a transgender card. We will have to follow the new definition and government guidelines.”
Since the new definition will exclude many, the doctor added that he would create boards to deal with such cases if necessary.
In its March 30 message to the president, the IAAPS, which represents more than 1,300 specialists, said the changes could have “unintended adverse consequences, including disruption of established treatment protocols, increased training and system burdens, and potential barriers to research and standardization in transgender health care.”
The Mariwala Health Initiative, a Mumbai-based organization that works to improve access to mental health services, released a statement condemning the amendments, signed by 1,062 mental health professionals as of April 1. The statement said the amendment reinforces “the outdated and harmful idea that gender diversity is a pathology requiring diagnosis”.
Another group, Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, a network of people advocating for equitable healthcare, said in a statement that the amendment seeks to deny or limit the right to health to more transgender women, transgender men, non-binary, gender diverse and intersex people who do not fit its “narrow definitions”. “Because of the narrowing of the definition of ‘transgender,’ excluded people will lose access to transition-related health care, mental health support, and various health and social programs,” it said.
Published – 03 Apr 2026 11:35 IST
