NYC Weighs Easing Birth Certificate Gender Changes
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- New York City lawmakers are weighing making it easier for transgender people to change the sex on their birth certificates.
The City Council's Health Committee has scheduled a hearing Monday on a plan supported by transgender rights advocates.
It would eliminate a requirement for people to have gender-reassignment surgery in order to change the documents. Instead, a health professional -- such as a doctor, nurse or clinical social worker -- would be able to affirm that the change would more accurately reflect the person's gender.
Vermont; Washington, D.C.; California; Oregon; Rhode Island, and New York state have removed surgery requirements. New York City issues its own birth certificates.
"For me, this is catching up with what other states and municipalities have done," New York City Councilman Corey Johnson, who sponsored the bill, told CNN last month.
The city Board of Health voted last month to solicit public comment on the proposed change.
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