‘Widows’ to keep marriage veto: Women whose husbands want to become transgender will not be trapped in same-sex partnerships, Liz Truss pledges 

• Women whose husbands want to transition will be able to veto it, Liz Truss said
• Current law demands a new marriage contract if one partner changes gender
• Trans rights activists say this amounts to a ‘spousal veto’ over a transition 
• Women whose husbands transition are sometimes known as ‘trans widows’ 

Women whose husbands want to become transgender will retain the right to veto their partner’s transition so they are not trapped in same-sex marriages, Liz Truss has pledged.

Ministers have faced growing pressure to amend divorce laws to allow a husband freely to switch gender without their wife’s consent and stay married.

The current law demands a new marriage contract is put in place if one partner legally changes gender and also requires the non-transitioning spouse to agree to continuing the marriage before their partner can be granted a Gender Recognition Certificate. 

Truss said women must have a ‘safeguard’ against husbands transitioning and thereby turning their marriage into a same-sex one. Trans rights activists say this amounts to a ‘spousal veto’

Trans activists have branded the process akin to a ‘spousal veto’ to someone transitioning.

But Ms Truss, Minister for Women and Equalities, has guaranteed wives would continue to be able to veto their husband’s gender reassignment, to save women from being locked into a non-consensual same-sex marriage.

Her declaration is understood to be fiercely opposed by male junior minister Mike Freer, who is said to have been pushing for the controversial overhaul to please transgender rights campaigners.

The argument has been brewing for some time, with trans activists demanding a husband should be able to change legal gender and remain married to his wife.

Their demands were backed by Mr Freer, who told MPs upcoming changes in divorce law ‘will remove what is known as spousal veto’. 

But Ms Truss has insisted women must have a ‘safeguard’.

Women whose husbands change gender are sometimes known as ‘trans widows’ because of the way their relationship has ended.

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