Parents Who Choose Not To Give Their Babies A Gender Now Have A New Option On Birth Certificates
By Dreamer
A more inclusive option will now be a choice for New York residents who don’t want to specify a baby’s gender on their birth certificate. A third gender category will soon be added to New York birth certificates for those who don’t identify as male or female, following the New York City Council and Board of Health passing legislation to allow for a non-binary identity category called ‘X’ beginning January 1, 2019.
Mayor Bill De Blasio supported the bill when it was introduced earlier this summer, noting that it would “allow transgender and gender nonconforming New Yorkers to live with the dignity and respect they deserve.”
He’s expected to sign the legislation soon.
The measure was introduced by Council Speaker Corey Johnson in June and, under the new law, will allow transgender New Yorkers to submit their own affidavits requesting to have the gender identity on their birth certificate changed.
Prior to this legislation, anyone who sought to change the identity listed had to get a physician letter or an affidavit from a licensed health care provider.
The measure passed 41-6 this week.
According to Johnson, this will make “New York birth certificates more inclusive for all and will send a powerful signal to the world that New York City government works for everyone.”
In a statement to NBC, Johnson explained: “Today is a historic day for New York in its role as a worldwide champion for inclusivity and equality. I especially want to thank the LGBTQ community for their advocacy and work on this issue to keep New York City in its rightful place as a leader in human rights.”
Non-binary civil rights activist Toby Adams, executive director of the Intersex & Genderqueer Recognition Project, believes that this legislation is important in allowing a person to have their identity accurately reflected, sharing that not allowing it is “disrespectful to their humanity.”
Adams told NBC: “It’s really damaging legally and psychologically to have your gender identity misidentified, and there are so many places where we have to show our ID.”
Councilman Robert Holden, a Queens Democrat who voted against the legislation, told the New York Post his concerns, explaining, “Just having anyone — without going through a doctor — say they’re another gender or X could lead to abuse and all sorts of problems. We need more oversight.”
He added: “How does ‘X’ describe a person? Don’t we have to have some standards and order?”
Among the comments that people left on NBC’s Facebook post about the legislation were those who had questions, such as one person who asked: “I don’t understand this. Humans are born male, female, or intersex. I realize once they are older they may decide they feel more like something else, but how does a newborn ‘select what they identify as’ to place on the birth certificate?”
Another commenter responded, explaining: “You can amend your birth certificate later in life for many different reasons. This will likely allow adults to amend their own birth certificate. It also allows a parent to select x and give their child the opportunity to grow up and decide how they want to be labeled.”
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