27/08/2026 | Writer: Kaos GL
According to a document obtained by Kaos GL, the Population Policies Council’s draft action plan includes regulations targeting the rights of LGBTI+ people, ranging from banning gender-affirming surgeries to preventing trans people from adopting children or becoming foster parents.
Official correspondence concerning the action plan currently being prepared by the Population Policies Council in Turkey, established in December 2024, has revealed that negotiations are ongoing between state institutions over regulations directly targeting the rights of LGBTI+ people.
According to an official letter dated August 2026 and titled “Population Policies Council Action Plan,” obtained by KaosGL.org, proposals under discussion include raising the minimum age for gender-affirming surgeries from 18 to 25 or banning such surgeries altogether. The action plan, which was discussed at the fourth meeting of the Population Policies Council and is still being prepared, also includes proposed regulations aimed at preventing people who have completed the gender affirmation process from adopting children or becoming foster parents, as well as a proposal to “review and remove all elements in the legislation that are not family-friendly”.
Gender-affirming process targeted once again
Under the “Legislation” section of the draft action plan, it is proposed that the minimum age for surgeries as part of the gender affirmation process, an issue that had previously been raised in judicial reform packages, be increased from 18 to 25 or that such surgeries be banned altogether.
The Ministry of Justice is listed as the institution responsible for the proposed regulation, while the Ministry of Family and Social Services, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Interior are listed among the relevant institutions. Negotiations on the proposal are ongoing.
The action plan also proposes that the medical board report declaring surgery to be “appropriate” as part of the gender affirmation process be tied to “concrete criteria”. Introducing a minimum one-year monitoring period before a medical board report can be issued is also among the regulations currently under discussion.
Plans seek to prevent trans people from adopting children or becoming foster parents
Another proposed regulation in the draft action plan targets the family and child-related rights of people who have completed the gender affirmation process.
The documents propose introducing “restrictive regulations” concerning people who have completed the gender affirmation process, including a requirement that they have “no descendants” and restrictions on their ability to adopt children or become foster parents after completing the process.
The action plan also lists “introducing separate regulations for people with disorders of sex development” among the legislative issues under negotiation.
The Council’s draft action plan also includes a proposal to comprehensively review existing legislation from a “family” perspective.
Proposal to work with social scientists to replace the term “early marriage”
The draft action plan also includes proposals aimed at increasing the visibility of family and population policies in the media and cultural sphere. These include meeting with television and film producers together with the Directorate of Communications to develop ideas for screenplays and providing incentives to productions that support “the concepts of family and population”.
The action plan also proposes working with social scientists to develop a new term to replace the expression “early marriage”.
What is the Population Policies Council and what does it do?
The Population Policies Council in Turkey was established within the Ministry of Family and Social Services through a Presidential Decree published in the Official Gazette in December 2024. Its stated purpose is to “monitor demographic developments in Turkey, keep the fertility rate above the population replacement level and strengthen the family institution”.
Its duties include examining changes in the population structure and the reasons behind the decline in fertility rates, developing short-, medium- and long-term policies to preserve a dynamic population structure, and ensuring that work in this area is carried out in coordination among public institutions.
Chaired by the Vice President, the Council consists of the ministers of Justice, Family and Social Services, Labour and Social Security, Youth and Sports, Treasury and Finance, Interior, National Education and Health, as well as the heads of the Directorate of Religious Affairs, the Directorate of Communications, the Presidency of Strategy and Budget, and the Turkish Statistical Institute.
Anti-LGBTI+ proposals had previously been withdrawn following public backlash
Similar regulations targeting the rights of LGBTI+ people had previously been raised during the preparation of the 10th, 11th and 12th Judicial Packages in Turkey. The drafts included proposals to raise the minimum age for the gender affirmation process from 18 to 25 and make the process more difficult. They also included provisions that would have imposed prison sentences of between one and three years for “acting or behaving contrary to one’s biological sex assigned at birth,” or for “encouraging, praising or promoting” such conduct. Proposals to criminalise engagement or wedding ceremonies between people of the same sex with prison sentences were also raised.
During preparations for the 12th Judicial Package, proposals to prevent people with children from applying for the gender affirmation process were brought back onto the agenda. Prison sentences for doctors and trans people involved in medical interventions as part of the gender affirmation process were also proposed.
Following backlash from LGBTI+ organisations and human rights defenders, the proposed regulations were not included in the draft texts submitted to Parliament.
Tags: human rights, women, media, life, family, health, lgbti
