Spain became the fifth country in the EU to explicitly ban non-consensual genital modification practices on intersex minors by passing the Law 4/2023 in February 2023. This paper maps the conditions and context in which this statute was enacted, evaluating why legislation (rather than e.g. medical guidelines) was adopted as the way forward. The paper constitutes a detailed review of the legislation’s provisions and intended effects, examining whether and how the legislation has been implemented. This assessment will pay particular attention to healthcare and health governance systems in Spain. Overall, the aim is to contextualise and critically appraise the 2023 Spanish law reform with regards to intersex medical care, providing a comprehensive picture of the rationales for passing this new law, the effects it has had on relevant stakeholders (most notably, intersex people and medical professionals) and any (potential) issues or loopholes in its implementation so far.
