An Icelandic father has lost custody of his 10-year-old autistic son after refusing to permit the child to undergo gender transition and identify as a girl, raising serious concerns about parental rights and the rush to medicalize confused minors.
Alexander Rocha from Reykjavik shared his story in an emotional video that went viral on social media. In December 2025, a court stripped him of custody because he opposed puberty blockers and hormone therapy for his son. Rocha believes such life-altering procedures are destructive, especially given the boy’s autism spectrum diagnosis. “As a father, I do not want to see happen to my child, who was already diagnosed on the autism spectrum,” Rocha said. “I believe that my child should not be exposed to life-altering procedures, such as puberty blockers or hormone therapy.”
Rocha has not seen his son for months, leaving his family “absolutely devastated.” He is fighting to appeal the decision, stating: “No parent should go through this. Children deserve to live free from radical gender ideology, which pressures them to make life decisions they don’t even understand yet.” Under Iceland’s Patients’ Rights Act, children under 16 require parental consent for medical treatment, but authorities can intervene if deemed “necessary.”
The Gender Autonomy Act further complicates matters by emphasizing specialist teams for gender-related decisions. This case exemplifies the dangers of imposing gender ideology on vulnerable children, often overriding parental authority and ignoring potential underlying issues like autism. It erodes family sovereignty and exposes kids to irreversible harm, prioritizing activist agendas over biological reality and child welfare.