''ADPF 787'' was a case of the

Supreme Court of Brazil The Federal Supreme Court (, , abbreviated STF) is the supreme court (court of last resort) of Brazil, serving primarily as the country's Constitutional Court. It is the highest court of law in Brazil for constitutional issues and its rulings ...

concerning ease of access of

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

people to public healthcare in Brazil, provided by the

Sistema Único de Saúde The ''Sistema Único de Saúde'' (, ''Unified Health System''), better known by the acronym SUS, is Brazil's publicly funded health care system. Created in 1990, the SUS is the largest government-run public health care system in the world, by nu ...

(SUS). The case's

rapporteur A rapporteur is a person who is appointed by an organization to report on the proceedings of its meetings. The term is a French-derived word. For example, Dick Marty was appointed ''rapporteur'' by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Eur ...

, minister

Gilmar Mendes Gilmar Ferreira Mendes (born December 30, 1955) is a Brazilian Justice of the Supremo Tribunal Federal (Brazilian Supreme Federal Court), appointed by then President Fernando Henrique Cardoso in 2002. Mendes was the Chief Justice of the Court fo ...

, cast the initial vote asserting the right of any person, regardless of gender, to access healthcare they require, and the Court unanimously agreed. Specifically, the case concerned ease of access of transgender people to traditionally gendered care, such as

gynecology Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the Female reproductive system, female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obste ...

and

urology Urology (from Ancient Greek, Greek wikt:οὖρον, οὖρον ''ouron'' "urine" and ''wiktionary:-logia, -logia'' "study of"), also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of t ...

. Computer systems in place would sometimes prevent requests for appointments by people with the "incorrect" gender, which disproportionally affected transgender people. The Court unanimously ruled that such systems must be altered and improved to prevent further exclusions.

Background

The case was requested by the

Workers' Party Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...

in objection to obstacles encountered by transgender people, during the

presidency of Jair Bolsonaro Jair Bolsonaro's tenure as the 38th president of Brazil began with his inauguration on 1 January 2019, and ended on 1 January 2023. Bolsonaro took office following his victory in the 2018 Brazilian general election, 2018 general election, defea ...

, while attempting to access the country's public healthcare system. Minister

, as the case's rapporteur, cast the initial vote asserting the right of any person, regardless of gender, to access healthcare they require. Additionally, Mendes required the Ministry of Health implement a series of changes. Among them: * The adaptation of SUS to allow for exams and appointments of all specialties, regardless of the patient's gender, avoiding bureaucratic procedures that may cause embarrassment or difficulty of access to transsexual persons; * That changes are not restricted to appointments of SUS, but apply to all information systems in the public health network; * That the Ministry of Health inform state and municipal governments of changes made to SUS' systems, and that it also aid in the local systems' transition. In May 2024, in response to the case, the Ministry of Health officially removed gender requirements from 271 medical procedures, including vasectomies and

childbirth Childbirth, also known as labour, parturition and delivery, is the completion of pregnancy, where one or more Fetus, fetuses exits the Womb, internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section and becomes a newborn to ...

. Ministers

Alexandre de Moraes Alexandre de Moraes (; born 13 December 1968) is a Brazilian jurist, former politician, former president of the Superior Electoral Court and currently justice of the Supreme Federal Court. Moraes was appointed to the Supreme Court by President M ...

Ricardo Lewandowski Enrique Ricardo Lewandowski (; born 11 May 1948) is a Brazilian judge and retired justice of the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil. He is the son of a Polish father and Swiss mother, who immigrated to Brazil after the Second World War. Lewandows ...

and

Rosa Weber Rosa Maria Pires Weber (born 2 October 1948) is a Brazilian magistrate, former justice and former president of the Supreme Federal Court, former president of the Superior Electoral Court and former justice of the Superior Labor Court. Academic ...

all concurred, but voting was halted as Nunes Marques requested a review of the case. Lewandowski and Weber have both since retired and been replaced by

Cristiano Zanin Cristiano Zanin Martins (born 15 November 1975) is a Brazilian attorney and professor who serves as justice of the Supreme Federal Court. He gained notoriety as personal attorney of president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in lawsuits related to Oper ...

and

Flávio Dino Flávio Dino de Castro e Costa (born 30 April 1968) is a Brazilian attorney-at-law, attorney, Supreme Court Justice, politician and professor. A former federal judge, Dino was elected to the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil), Chamber of Deputies in 2 ...

, respectively; new ministers are usually not expected to recast their seats' vote. Voting resumed with ministers Edson Fachin and

Dias Toffoli José Antonio Dias Toffoli (born November 15, 1967) is a Brazilian lawyer who has been a member of the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil since 2009, nominated by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Toffoli was the president of the Supreme Federal ...

's concurring votes, forming a majority. On 28 June 2024, ministers Roberto Barroso, Luiz Fux,

Cármen Lúcia Cármen Lúcia Antunes Rocha (; 19 April 1954) is a Brazilian jurist and member of the Supreme Federal Court since 2006. She is the second woman to have been chosen as a justice for the Court and Chief Justice and a professor of Constitutional La ...

, Nunes Marques and

André Mendonça André Luiz de Almeida Mendonça (born 27 December 1972) is a Brazilian attorney, Presbyterian pastor, and politician currently serving as Justice of the Supreme Federal Court. He is the third evangelical Christian positioned to join the top cou ...

all voted with the rapporteur, bringing the Court to a unanimous concurrence. Minister Marques concurred in part, arguing there had been no omission by the State, but that the proposed changes are necessary. Ministers Fachin, Lúcia and Barroso concurred and additionally proposed that the Live Birth Declaration (, DNV) should include the parents' gender identification.

High Court decision

Judiciary representation

Notes

References

External links