Change of Gender
It is a clone of this request.
| Submitted | Dec. 30, 2016 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Jane Nevins
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the California Public Records Act (California Government Code §§ 6250), I hereby request the following records:
How many people change their gender on their birth certificate each year in California?
How many people change it from male to female?
How many people change it from female to male?
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 calendar days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Jane Nevins
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Dec. 30, 2016. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: CDPH Response
Email:
Dear Jane Nevins,
Thank you for submitting your California Public Records Act request, inquiring about gender change on California Birth Certificates. Your request was forwarded to CDPH Vital Records (CDPH-VR) for response.
Your request asks for the following:
* How many people change their gender on their birth certificate each year in California?
* How many people change it from male to female?
* How many people change it from female to male?
The California Department of Public Health - Vital Records (CDPH-VR) does not have a reliable data source from which to query this information, and cannot provide the numbers you seek for the reasons outlined below.
First, CDPH-VR does not currently use an electronic database to register amendments to birth records; amendment registration is a paper process and CDPH-VR does not have a database to track the changes made to the birth certificate. As a result, there is currently no database or data entry of amended birth certificate information that would enable CDPH-VR to query to obtain the numbers you seek.
Second, under California law, if a person submits an amendment to change the gender on their birth certificate, the original birth certificate is sealed and replaced. As a result, the original sealed birth certificate (or information contained therein) is only obtainable with a court order, and the new replacement certificate does not exhibit any indicators that the gender was changed. There are no data or indicators to search for on the birth certificate that would enable CDPH-VR to isolate records submitted for gender correction.
Again, thank you for your inquiry and we hope that this information is of some assistance to you.
References:
California law Health and Safety Code Sections 103446 - 103449<http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=HSC&division=102.&title=&part=1.&chapter=11.&article=8.>
California law Health and Safety Code Sections 103425 - 103445<http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=HSC&division=102.&title=&part=1.&chapter=11.&article=7.>