Court upholds Tennessee ban on changing sex in birth certificates

By Nate Raymond
July 12, 2024 9:12 PM EDT Updated 9 hours ago

July 12 (Reuters) - A divided federal appeals court on Friday rejected a constitutional challenge to Tennessee's decades-old policy of not allowing people born in the state to amend their birth certificates to reflect their gender identity.

A 2-1 panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that the U.S. Constitution did not require the Republican-led state to change the biological sex listed on the birth certificates of four transgender women born in Tennessee.

The state is among only a handful nationally that categorically bars individuals from amending the sex on their birth certificates.

The transgender women argued Tennessee's policy violated their due process rights and infringed on equal protection rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment by discriminating on the basis of their sex and transgender status.

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