Ecuador's Court Ruling: Trans Teens Can Change Names

0:00It's April 17th. From your city to your ears, this is Canada News Today, powered by AI. I'm Cory with the story. Ecuador's Constitutional Court, just ruled that transgender teens can change their names and gender on official documents following cases like that of. 17-year-old Amata, whose name means beloved in Spanish. Her mom, Lorena Bonilla, fought for years after schools rejected Amata at age 9 because her ID didn't match her identity. Adults won similar rights last year through reforms after long advocacy. This builds on two recent court decisions, one for March, opening doors for adolescents amid growing conservative pushback in the region. Amata's family faced reversals, like a higher court forcing her back to her birth name on her passport and ID back in the day. LGBTQ plus advocates cheered the wins, but religious leaders and right-wing groups slammed the court for overstepping warning at risk's kids' development.

1:01Human rights watch notes ongoing hostility from political and social sectors leading to delays and denials. Ecuador's big LGBTQ plus advances, like decriminalizing homosexuality in 1997, same-sex marriage in 2019, and early name, changes all came from courts, not lawmakers, violence persists with 30 LGBTQ plus killings reported last year, mostly trans women. Amata's family, now in Canada, keeps pushing for change back home, hoping parents see trans kids can chase any dream from nursing to whatever lights. Them up. These rulings mark progress, but the fight rolls on.