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June 6, 2014

New York Allows Transgender People to Change Birth Certificate Without Surgery 
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New York State has adopted a policy change allowing transgender people
to change the gender specified on their birth certificate without
undergoing sex reassignment surgery. The shift follows a decade-long
campaign by the Silvia Rivera Law Project and other groups, who say it
will help transgender people access IDs which accurately reflect their
gender and overcome barriers to jobs, housing and services. However, the
change currently excludes prisoners, youth and people born in New York
City. New York is the sixth state —– along with Washington, D.C.
–— to lift the surgery requirement.

 

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