Post by Logan on May 13, 2016 12:29:26 GMT -6
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is pursuing regulations that would give it one of the nation's toughest policies against allowing transgender people to update their birth certificates, prompting anger from advocates and threats of a lawsuit.
State health department officials contend an existing agency regulation allowing amended birth certificates conflicts with state law and needs to be eliminated. The agency has been pursuing changes for months and could impose them within six weeks.
The department's revised rules would allow a change only if a person or his or her parents could document that the gender was incorrectly recorded at the time of birth.
Three transgender rights advocates called on the department to abandon its proposed changes during a hearing Thursday. The National Center for Transgender Equality says only Idaho and Tennessee have legal policies against changing gender listings on birth certificates, though Ohio also is not allowing it.
Read more: hosted2.ap.org/KSMAN/1ef3ed09cd3c41b3bd5a078bc509e7a1/Article_2016-05-12-US--Transgender%20Birth%20Certificates/id-750e3fef88714ce78f72305a4a1f21b6
State health department officials contend an existing agency regulation allowing amended birth certificates conflicts with state law and needs to be eliminated. The agency has been pursuing changes for months and could impose them within six weeks.
The department's revised rules would allow a change only if a person or his or her parents could document that the gender was incorrectly recorded at the time of birth.
Three transgender rights advocates called on the department to abandon its proposed changes during a hearing Thursday. The National Center for Transgender Equality says only Idaho and Tennessee have legal policies against changing gender listings on birth certificates, though Ohio also is not allowing it.
Read more: hosted2.ap.org/KSMAN/1ef3ed09cd3c41b3bd5a078bc509e7a1/Article_2016-05-12-US--Transgender%20Birth%20Certificates/id-750e3fef88714ce78f72305a4a1f21b6