Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in Uruguay rank among the highest in the world.

Same-sex couples have been allowed to marry since August 2013, and have had access to civil unions, which do not grant all the benefits and responsibilities of marriage, since 2008.

[27] Nicolas Cotugno, archbishop of Montevideo, had previously said it would be a "serious error to accept the adoption of children by homosexual couples", claiming it was "not about religion, philosophy or sociology.

[24] Senator Francisco Gallinal of the National Party claimed: "The family is the bedrock of society and this measure weakens it.

On 3 October 2018, a family judge ruled that the Ministry of Education and Culture had discriminated when it prohibited an unmarried lesbian couple from listing both of their surnames on their twin daughters' records.

The judge ruled that this was discrimination on account of sexual orientation as heterosexual couples in Uruguay are not obligated to be married in order to give their children their respective surnames.

[28][29] The lesbian couple, named Karina and Fernanda, met in 2015, and their twin daughters, Belen and Juliet, were born through assisted reproductive technology.

[30] Media outlets reported that, following the ruling, several other unmarried lesbian couples had applied to have their child/children carry both their surnames.

[37][38] Since October 2018, sex reassignment surgery, hormone therapy or any form of diagnosis are not requirements to alter one's gender on official documents.

25% had left their home before the age of 18 after being rejected by their family, 87% did not finish secondary school and suffered discrimination in the educational field and 67% became prostitutes to generate income, according to figures from the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of the Republic.

[40] In addition, during the Uruguayan Dictatorship, the transgender population suffered severe torture, sexual violence and unjustified imprisonment.

[41] September 2018 reports indicated that six trans women had died since discussions of a revised transgender bill began in early 2017.

The law also established a framework to revert past discriminatory state actions, including providing monetary reparations to transgender individuals persecuted during the Uruguayan Dictatorship (estimated to be around 50 people).

The law stipulates the "free development of personality according to their chosen gender identity", and calls on the Government to ensure that transgender people are treated respectfully by authorities, included in housing programmes, have access to education, and are not denied health services.

[44] In complying with the new law, the Obras Sanitarias del Estado (the state water company) began offering jobs for transgender people in July 2019.

The petition was presented by National Party members Carlos Iafigliola and Álvaro Dastugue to the Electoral Court in late March 2019.

[49] The Episcopal Conference of Uruguay of the Catholic Church published a letter from the Archbishop of Montevideo, Cardinal Daniel Sturla, in which it states that although he is against several articles of the law, because they are "based on gender ideology" and are "incompatible with Christian anthropology", he did not sign the repeal petition because the "Catholic Church has to be on the side of those who suffer and have suffered".

19580 on violence against women based on gender (Ley N° 19580 de violencia hacia las mujeres basada en género), in force since January 2018, establishes the protocolization of interventions regarding intersex persons, prohibiting unnecessary medical procedures for children and teenagers.

[65] Previously, gay and bisexual men could donate blood in Uruguay, provided they hadn't had sex for 12 months.

According to the State Health Services Administration (ASSE), life expectancy for transgender people is just 45 years old.