Bill Would Make It Easier For Transgender People To Change Birth Certificates In Illinois

SPRINGFIELD, IL -- A bill that would make it easier for transgender people to change the sex listed on their birth certificates advanced in the Illinois House this week.

Under the current law, birth certificates an only be changed if a person has undergone transition surgery. The proposal would allow transgender people to change their birth certificate without having surgery if a medical doctor or mental health care provider verifies that they've received "clinically appropriate" treatment.

The bill removes language that requires an "operation," stating, "A declaration by a licensed health care professional or licensed mental health professional who has treated or evaluated a person stating the person has undergone treatment that is clinically appropriate for that individual for the purpose of gender transition, based on contemporary medical standards, or that the individual has an intersex condition."

The measure , introduced Feb. 1 by Rep. Gregory Harris (D-Chicago), passed the House Human Services Committee by a 7-4 vote Wednesday and can now move on to the full House for a vote.

While the proposal would be groundbreaking for transgender people in Illinois, it wouldn't be the first law of its kind. Currently, 14 other states have similar laws, according to WAND.

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Photo: Demonstrators protest for transgender rights with a rally and march through the Loop and a candlelight vigil to remember transgender friends lost to murder and suicide on March 3 in Chicago. Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images News/Getty Images