Washington State to Allow Residents to Change Birth Certificate to ‘Non-Binary’ X

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Residents in Washington State who believe that they don’t identify as either male or female will be allowed to change their birth certificate from their birth sex to only an “X” beginning on Jan. 27.

“After receiving and considering public comment, the agency determined that this rule change will provide individuals with the option to have a birth certificate that aligns with their gender identity,” the Washington Department of Health said in a press release.

According to the Department, the adopted rule “[d]efines X as a gender that is not exclusively male or female, including, but not limited to, intersex, agender, amalgagender, androgynous, bigender, demigender, female-to-male, genderfluid, genderqueer, male-to-female, neutrois, nonbinary, pangender, third sex, transgender, transsexual, Two Spirit, and unspecified.”

Adults may have their birth certificate changed without approval from a physician, as the only requirement is to submit a notarized request to the department.

Minors are required to have a signed statement from a licensed health care provider, and the request must be made by the child’s parent or legal guardian.

“Social norms are changing,” Center for Health Statistics Director Christie Spice told ABC News. “When a person’s gender designation on their birth certificate doesn’t match how people present themselves, it opens the door to harassment and intimidation.”

He said that there was a large turnout in December during the public hearing for the proposed rule, which had been rolled out in August.

“It was a packed house,” Spice stated. “There were people on both sides of the issue, but a majority supported the change.”

The allowance will only apply retroactively and will not be permitted for newborns.

As previously reported, last June, Oregon announced that it would allow residents to identify as “X” on their driver’s license after a county judge permitted a man who asserts that he is a “mixture of both” male and female to identify as non-binary on his license. For $35, Oregonians could also submit a notarized application to the state Public Health Office to have their birth certificate changed as of Jan. 1.

California soon followed, as Gov. Jerry Brown signed the “Gender Recognition Act” into law in October, providing three options on driver’s license applications.

“With Governor Brown’s signature on this bill, transgender and nonbinary people will now be able to be who they are, not who society forces them to be,” bill co-author Sen. Scott Wiener remarked in a statement. “For too long society has forced people into gender boxes. It’s time for government to get out of the way and let people live their lives authentically as who they are.”

The bill is likewise stated to apply to birth certificates.

Isaiah 45:9 reads, “Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the Earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, ‘What makest thou?’ or thy work, ‘He hath no hands?’”

Romans 9:20 also states, “Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, ‘Why hast thou made me thus?’”