A Canadian parent has called for a major review in government protocol, in a bid to omit their baby’s gender from their birth certificate.
Kori Doty, from British Columbia, identifies as non-binary trans – neither male nor female. After welcoming their baby, Searyl Atli in November, they want their child to have the same option.
Kori believes that being assigned a particular gender at birth could prove stressful and traumatic later in life. As a result, they want to leave the gender allocation on the baby’s birth certificate blank.
With no legislation supporting Kori’s choice however, authorities in British Columbia are insisting that Kori assigns a gender – and won’t issue the birth certificate as a result.
It hasn’t been a totally fruitless venture for Kori, who wants the baby’s gender to be left out on all official documents – they have succeeded in getting a healthcare card with a ‘U’ where the ‘F’ and ‘M’ would usually sit. This is believed to be a world first.
While protocol for the allocation of gender on official government documents is under review in certain areas of Canada, unfortunately for Kori, this isn’t the case in British Columbia – which is why they are bringing a case.
In what could be a 1st, #BC child #BC issued health card w/ "U" for sex. Parent Kori Doty at centre of fight w/ Vital Statistics. #LGBTQ pic.twitter.com/MPlQsO8qYe
— Charmaine de Silva (@char_des) June 30, 2017
Kori has appealed for judicial review calling for local government to reconsider the addition of a set gender on birth certificates and other official documents.
Speaking to local media outlet CBC, Kori explained the reason behind their legal battle.
“I’m raising Searyl in such a way that until they have the sense of self and command of vocabulary to tell me who they are, I’m recognising them as a baby and trying to give them all the love and support to be the most whole person that they can be, outside of the restrictions that come with the ‘boy’ box and the ‘girl’ box,” Kori said.
“When I was born, doctors looked at my genitals and made assumptions about who I would be, and those assignments followed me and followed my identification throughout my life – those assumptions were incorrect, and I ended up having to do a lot of adjustments since then.”
If Kori wins their legal battle, they could pave the way for a widespread change to how we recognise and identify our newborns.
What are your thoughts on Kori’s case? Be sure to let us know in the comment section.
