UK Christians decry proposal to allow gender change without medical diagnosis

Christians in the U.K. are raising their objections to a proposal that would allow adults to change their gender legally without a doctor's diagnosis.

Express has reported that Education Secretary Justine Greening has confirmed that the Gender Recognition Bill will include proposals for allowing men to identify as women and vice versa.

Under current law, people must be diagnosed with gender dysphoria, a condition in which a person's biological sex and identity do not match.

The proposed legislation would scrap the rule that requires people to live for two years in their desired change before they can officially change sex.

Individuals will be allowed to alter the birth certificates to reflect their gender, and those who identify as "nonbinary" will be able to define themselves as "X" in the document.

The Labour party and Lib Dems are expected to back the plans. British Prime Minister Theresa May has recently expressed their support for the proposal, while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has stated that he wanted people to be able to "self-identify" their sex.

Greening stated that the government will consult with the public later this year about the proposals that are intended to overhaul the current "complex" rules.

"What we want to do is try and streamline the process, de-medicalise it and make it less intrusive. We'll be consulting on how to do that in the autumn," she said.

Simon Calvert, a spokesman for The Christian Institute, expressed concern that the proposed bill could lead to invasion of privacy.

"It is worrying when the leaders of the main political parties are so out of touch with the concerns of ordinary people. Allowing men to self-identify as female without any medical diagnosis allows them to invade the privacy of women and girls," he said.

"It's time for a reality check. Some things can't be changed. May and Corbyn want to elevate the principle of 'gender self-declaration'. But it is wrong, it is anti-scientific and it is dangerous," he continued.

The plan was also criticized by the parents' group Transgender Trend, which warned that women might stop going to facilities such as women's hospital wards and rape crisis centers if any man who can identify as a woman without tests can gain access to places where women might be getting undressed or feel vulnerable.

The British government is expected to publish the consultation this autumn after consulting the country's estimated 1.5 million LGBT people to help inform the policy.