A lawsuit filed over a year ago by the American Civil Liberties Union was settled after West Virginia announced new policies regulating when a birth certificate could be amended.
The organization is celebrating the settlement as an important win for people who identify as transgender.
“This is an incredible policy change not only for our clients but all transgender people with West Virginia birth certificates who require amendments,” said lead counsel Taylor Brown for the ACLU LGBTQ & HIV Project in a statement on Oct. 26. “In today’s climate, it is more important than ever for the government to leave personal decisions of these kinds where they belong, between an individual and their provider. Not a court, legislators, or administrative bodies.”
Prior to the policy revision, the West Virginia Vital Registration Office would only amend birth certificates to reflect a person’s gender identity if directed to by an order from a circuit court.
The state’s Department of Health and Human Resources dropped the court order requirement in April and instead asked individuals who want to change the gender marker on their birth certificate to file an attestation form. The form is available online.
The ACLU, ACLU of West Virginia, and the Harvard Law School LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic filed a lawsuit in August of 2021 challenging the state’s procedures regarding amending a birth certificate on the grounds that people who identify as transgender were legally blocked from complying.
In July 2020, the West Virginia Supreme Court issued a memorandum preventing lower courts from issuing birth certificate amendment orders. The office of Vital Registration did not alter its policies following the memorandum.
The plaintiffs also complained that the process left an individual's birth name and gender on an amended document
The new process of amending birth certificates also includes removing previous information from a reissued birth certificate which proponents of the change say offers additional protection to those individuals seeking an amendment.
The ACLU plans to continue to lobby for changes to vital records administration in West Virginia.
“Nonbinary West Virginians are still unable to obtain a birth certificate that accurately reflects their gender,” said Joseph Cohen, the executive director of ACLU West Virginia. “Since April of this year, U.S. citizens have been able to select an X gender marker on passport applications. We will continue to work with our partners to update West Virginia’s policies so that all West Virginians can have the accurate identity documents they need.”
