Thu, Jan 12, 2017
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A bill proposed today in the Indiana House would directly affect transgender persons born in Indiana.
This morning Rep. Bruce Borders filed House Bill 1361, which would prohibit any change on a birth certificate and the permanent birth record of the gender of an individual. (The bill makes exception for typographical or clerical errors. The bill also allows for a change if a DNA test — the presence or absence of a Y chromosome — determines a different result from the recorded gender.)
(Heard of Bruce Borders before? His famed Elvis impersonations may jog your memory.)
This morning Rep. Bruce Borders filed House Bill 1361, which would prohibit any change on a birth certificate and the permanent birth record of the gender of an individual. (The bill makes exception for typographical or clerical errors. The bill also allows for a change if a DNA test — the presence or absence of a Y chromosome — determines a different result from the recorded gender.)
(Heard of Bruce Borders before? His famed Elvis impersonations may jog your memory.)
HB 1361 has been assigned to the House Public Health committee.
The implications of this bill and the questions it generates are vast .
First of all, not all birth certificates were created equal. According to the Indiana State Department of Health last year, the gender of a child born in Indiana is recorded by the state, but the information listed on the actual certificate itself is not. That can vary from county to county. A birth certificate from Marion County doesn't look the same as a birth certificate from Posey County or Benton County. The design of a birth certificate can change at the will of county government.
The implications of this bill and the questions it generates are vast .
First of all, not all birth certificates were created equal. According to the Indiana State Department of Health last year, the gender of a child born in Indiana is recorded by the state, but the information listed on the actual certificate itself is not. That can vary from county to county. A birth certificate from Marion County doesn't look the same as a birth certificate from Posey County or Benton County. The design of a birth certificate can change at the will of county government.
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| Rep. Borders' official portrait |
Why make a big deal about gender? After all, gender identification isn't
necessary for official needs. For the purposes of obtaining a U.S.
passport, for example, the only information a birth certificate must
have is the full name of the person, the full name of the parents, the
date and place (city/county and state) of the birth, the signature of
the registrar and the official seal. Gender is not needed nor required.
Current Indiana law allows changes to the official birth record through a court order. The Vital Statistics division of the health department will make the requested changes and an amended birth certificate can be issued at that time. This bill would not allow that to happen.
So why draft this bill? What is the public greater good?
It could be presumed that the only persons who would seek out an official gender change in records outside of clerical errors would be transgender persons. And in this case, Hoosier-born transgender persons would be denied the right. It wouldn't matter of that person decided to "give up" their Hoosier citizenship and live a full productive life in another state or country. His or her record of birth will always be tied to Indiana and would never be allowed to be changed to reflect who they really are if this bill were to pass.
Current Indiana law allows changes to the official birth record through a court order. The Vital Statistics division of the health department will make the requested changes and an amended birth certificate can be issued at that time. This bill would not allow that to happen.
So why draft this bill? What is the public greater good?
It could be presumed that the only persons who would seek out an official gender change in records outside of clerical errors would be transgender persons. And in this case, Hoosier-born transgender persons would be denied the right. It wouldn't matter of that person decided to "give up" their Hoosier citizenship and live a full productive life in another state or country. His or her record of birth will always be tied to Indiana and would never be allowed to be changed to reflect who they really are if this bill were to pass.
Read more articles from NUVO, here.
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