The American Medical Association (AMA) has recently come forward to state that assigning babies as either “male” or “female” at birth disregards the diversity of the spectrum of gender identity. This proposed change would make sure the designation of the infant’s sex would be withheld from the publicly available side of a birth certificate, allowing that information to only be known by medical professionals.
This recommendation was brought about after years of study and LGBTQ advocacy. Currently, the requirement to list a newborn’s binary sex can often lead to many obstacles for transgender, intersex, and nonbinary adults. Many people do not have the access to or the funds for a change on their birth certificates and can face discrimination and harassment if their gender identity does not match with their assigned sex. This puts many individuals at risk who are attempting to accomplish tasks many don’t have to think twice about, such as registering for school, adopting a child, or even getting married.
Many transgender and nonbinary adults don’t have IDs that show the correct gender marker, for many of the same reasons. A recent study estimates that around 34 percent of trans adults do not have accurate identification. Much like having an inaccurate birth certificate, transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people are subject to harassment if their ID does not match their gender identity.
Only 14 states in the U.S. offer a third gender marker for birth certificates, which aligns with the scientifically accurate claim that sex and gender are not binary. However, by completely removing the gender marker, uniform policies over all states could soon take place.
This is not the first time birth certificates were subject to review and change. Previously, birth certificates used to include the race of a newborn’s parents. Historically, this was used to actively discriminate on the basis of race, and was thus removed from the public record of birth certificates.
The same can be done for sex-based discrimination, if the proposal passes. For now, the conservative right is in an uproar about the proposal, and will fight against it. If passed, however, the change will result in a step forward for the transgender and intersex communities.
