MEDIA RELEASE – 1 September 2024
110+ Children / Teens Change Birth Certificate
Children are changing the sex on their birth certificate since the new law came into force on 15 June last year, including 47 children 15 years or younger. Some 16/17 year olds have done it without parental / guardian consent.
Almost 900 people in total have changed their birth certificates to their ‘self-identified gender’.
According to Official Information Act data gained by Family First from the Department of Internal Affairs, the number of people who have changed their gender on their NZ birth certificate in the first year of the new law is:
15 & under 47
16 / 17 66
18+ 776
TOTAL 889
Two teenagers in the 16/17 age group have made the change without parental consent – instead relying on a letter of support from a “suitably qualified third party” (which is undefined).
Demand to be recognised as a female was greatest with 445, followed by male 302, and non-binary 142.
There is no limit to the number of times you can change the gender on your birth certificate. Ironically, you can reapply to revert to the sex recorded at birth.
In the 2001 Select Committee report it said:
- “it is important to allow the sex markers to be prescribed by regulation, rather than primary legislation. This would allow them to be more easily reviewed and updated as understanding of sex and gender changes over time.”
- “We believe that people should be allowed to amend their registered sex more than once, to reflect that gender can be fluid for some people.”
- “It is possible that a 16- or 17-year-old may not receive guardian consent. In our view, this should not be the end of the process… We think that providing a reasonable alternative to guardian consent is important for young people who may not have guardians willing to support them in amending their sex.”
- For children 15 years or younger, a health professional’s recommendation is no longer required either. Just a parent and a “third party”.
- Who can be a “third party”? Could be “have known the applicant for a period of time” but “wide enough to provide applicants with a reasonable level of choice”.
- “Some submitters were concerned that a self-identification process would have an adverse effect on women’s sport. We take a different view.”
- “The information on a birth certificate alone is not definitive evidence of a person’s sex.”
- “We agree that requiring someone to declare that they intend to “live as” a person of the nominated sex is problematic. Inadvertently, this could be perceived as enshrining sexist stereotypes in law depending on a person’s view of what it means to “live as” a person of a particular sex.” Those clauses are now removed (“intend to live as a person of the nominated sex”)
In a touch of massive irony, the Select Committee inadvertently confirmed why the ‘conversion therapy’ law should also have been binned, and why parental notification for teen abortions, puberty blockers and cross-sex hormone treatment should be mandated.
“We think that the difference between a 16- or 17-year-old and a child is their competence in making important decisions with significant consequences. We think it is important to retain a guardian’s responsibilities for their child’s development and helping their child to understand and make important decisions. This is why we think consent from a guardian must be required if a child under 16 wants to amend their registered sex… we are not confident that all children from age 12 to 15 have adequate competence to make important decisions.”
“By choosing your own gender in your birth certificate, the certificates have become an object of unscientific gender ideology and effectively tells medical professionals that they got it wrong at time of birth. Circumstances may change but a historical document should not be able to be changed,” says Bob McCoskrie, CEO of Family First NZ.
“Binary is the only gender story there is amongst humanity when it comes to gender and sex-distinction. There simply are not many genders. But of course, there are many different ways to be a healthy male or female without holding to narrow gender stereotypes. Human sexuality is a dichotomy, not a continuum.”
“It is to Parliament’s shame that they voted to distort biological reality.”
READ MORE ON THE NEW LAW: www.BirthCertificates.nz
