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Colleen Connell
Executive Director

CHICAGO - In an important reversal of two policies restricting who can obtain accurate birth certificates after sex reassignment surgery, the State of Illinois has issued new, accurate birth certificates to three transgender persons born in Illinois. All three individuals had been denied birth certificates with the correct gender listed on the documents. Two persons were denied because they chose a surgeon who practiced overseas and was not licensed in the United States. The third plaintiff was denied because the Department required surgery that was not medically necessary for him.

A new policy adopted by the Illinois Department of Vital Records now permits many transgender individuals in Illinois and across the nation, to receive a new birth certificate that reflects their accurate gender following sex reassignment surgery overseas. The Department has also announced that it will formulate new standards for determining how much surgery will be required before a transgender person will be provided a birth certificate listing the correct gender marker.

For more than four decades, Illinois permitted individuals who have sex reassignment surgery to change the gender "marker" on an original birth certificate. Earlier this decade, the Department's Division of Vital Records started interpreting the relevant law to provide the option of changing the birth certificate only if an individual had the surgery performed by a United States-licensed physician. This change in policy created an unnecessary and unfair burden for the growing number of persons who select a surgeon from Europe, South America or Asia, including two women on whose behalf the ACLU of Illinois sued in January 2009. In addition, the Department started in about 2004 to require those female-to-male transgender persons who request an accurate birth certificate to complete surgery for which the vast majority of applicants have no medical need, nor a desire to complete.

The ACLU tried for several years to persuade the State to change its practices prior to pursuing relief in court. Since it filed suit, the State finally reversed itself and changed its policy so that those who have sex reassignment surgery abroad can secure a new, accurate birth certificate. Celebrating the change in policy and the positive development for its clients, the ACLU again noted today that the lack of an accurate gender marker on a birth certificate creates unnecessary and dangerous challenges to persons who have undergone sex reassignment surgery, and is antithetical to the advice of medical experts who recommend that persons who undergo sex reassignment ensure that all aspects of their lives reflect their gender identity.