Rokita Defending The Practice Of Listing Individuals’ Biological Sex On Birth Certificates

Attorney General Todd Rokita is defending the practice of listing individuals’ biological sex on birth certificates rather than changing them years after the fact to reflect individuals’ self-perceived gender identities.

“The purpose of a birth certificate is obviously to establish a record of biological birth and certain relevant factual details of that occasion,” Attorney General Rokita said. “To change the designated sex on a birth certificate at a later date is in effect falsifying that document.”

At issue before the Indiana Supreme Court is whether the judicial branch has the authority to order changes in the designated sex on birth certificates to make them match individuals’ preferences.

While the Indiana General Assembly possesses the authority to pass a law permitting such alterations, Attorney General Rokita noted in a brief, the courts do not.

The brief pertains to a case in which a mother filed a petition with a court seeking to change a 7-year-old child’s designated sex from male to female. The child has been treated as a girl by family, peers and doctors since around age 2, according to legal documents.

“We all should care about and sympathize with our fellow Hoosiers’ specific life experiences,” Attorney General Rokita said. “By insisting on public policies that serve the greater good, we ultimately reinforce that principle rather than diminish it.”