LEGAL
Birth Certifi cate Gender Changes Opened to Minors
State initiative, prompted by youth’s lawsuit, follows similar laws enacted by Council
BY MATT TRACY
In response to a federal lawsuit,
New York State Attorney
General Letitia James
announced a new policy
March 10 allowing minors born
in the state to update the gender
marker on their birth certifi cate so
it aligns with their gender identity.
The policy, not to be confused
with laws and policies already in
place for birth certifi cates issued
in New York City, also removes
another hurdle: adults, as well
as minors, who seek to update
the gender marker on their birth
certifi cates no longer need to go
through a doctor.
Transgender and non-binary
folks previously had to wait until
they were at least 18 years old
to change the gender marker on
their birth certifi cates. The old
policy also required adults seeking
to change their birth certifi cates
to provide affi davits from medical
professionals attesting to their
gender transition. (Until 2014, the
requirement was that an individual
had undergone gender confi rmation
surgery.)
Under the new policy, which
went into effect immediately, medical
professionals are removed from
the process altogether and people
born in the state can seek to
change the gender marker on their
birth certifi cate at any age. Those
who are 16 years of age or younger
can request a change as long as a
parent or guardian signs an application
and a notarized affi davit affi
rming the youth’s gender identity,
New York State Attorney General Letitia James has implemented a new policy allowing individuals of
all ages to update the gender marker on their birth certifi cate without the need for medical certifi cation.
while adults can request a change
by similarly submitting a signed
application with a notarized affi -
davit and providing it to the State
Department of Health’s Bureau of
Vital Records. Those who wish to
legally change their name can also
note that on the application form.
The policy change came in response
to a lawsuit by MHW, a boy
who was born in upstate Ithaca
and currently lives in Texas. The
boy received gender-affi rming care
and a Texas court allowed him to
update his name and gender identity
on offi cial documents. When he
sought to change the gender marker
on his New York birth certifi cate,
he ran into a roadblock when his
parents were told the state did not
allow minors to do that. Lambda
Legal, who is representing MHW,
proceeded to fi le the lawsuit in New
York last month.
“Thanks to the brave determination
of this young man, New York
Alaska Must Cover Trans Employee’s Gender Surgery
Federal court rules healthcare plan’s policy is, on its face, sex discrimination
BY ARTHUR S. LEONARD
A federal district court in Anchorage,
Alaska, has ruled that a public employer’s
health benefi ts plan violates
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of
NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL/ WILLIAM ALATRISTE
State has made the right decision
and changed its policy to allow
minors to obtain birth certifi cates
that accurately refl ect their gender
identity,” James said in a written
statement. “Effective immediately,
transgender individuals born in
New York will have the right to
make this deeply personal decision
without the government’s unwarranted
denial or without having
their privacy violated. In New York
State, we will not allow an outdated
policy to stop us from providing
every individual with equal dignity
and respect.”
MHW also reacted to the new
policy, calling it “awesome.”
“Now all my identity paperwork
matches, and I can go forward not
having to worry about legal documents
confl icting with who I am
again,” he said in a written statement.
“I get to just go on being
me.”
City law had already allowed
1964 because it categorically denies coverage
for gender transition surgical procedures. According
to a March 6 opinion by Senior District
Judge H. Russel Holland, the employer’s exclusion
is “discriminatory on its face and is direct
evidence of sex discrimination.”
adults — and minors, with permission
from a parent or guardian —
to update their birth certifi cates to
refl ect their gender identity without
requiring any supporting medical
documentation. But one difference
is that the state policy allows
17-year-olds to request a change to
their birth certifi cates without approval
from a parent or guardian,
while the city law requires permission
for anyone under 18. That difference
will not matter, according
to a spokesperson for the attorney
general’s offi ce, who said the state
policy is effective everywhere.
However, the policy is merely
a policy and could be subject to
change under different executive
leadership in the state. Out
gay State Senator Brad Hoylman
of Manhattan and State Assemblymember
Felix Ortiz of Brooklyn
are aiming to etch the policy into
law and further reform the state’s
approach to legal documents regarding
gender identity. Their bill,
dubbed the Gender Recognition
Act, would add an “X” gender marker
option denoting a non-binary
gender identity — as is already
available for birth certifi cates in
New York City — remove medical
affi davit requirements for gender
marker changes, allow minors 16
and younger to change their gender
marker with their parent or guardian’s
permission, do away with a
requirement that name changes be
made public, and allow parents to
update their own names on their
child’s birth certifi cate and identify
themselves as “father,” “mother,” or
“parent.”
The ruling does not require all employers to
provide coverage for gender reassignment surgery,
but it requires that they not discriminate
because of an employee’s sex in deciding which
➤ TRANSITION COSTS, continued on p.30
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