ACLU of Illinois Media Alert

-(Business Wire)-January 26, 2009 - ACLU of Illinois:

What:					News Conference to Announce Challenge to Illinois Vital Records Policy Denying New Birth Certificate for Transgender Persons who Undergo Gender Confirmation Surgery Abroad

When:					Tuesday, January 27, 2009 – 10:30 a.m.

Where:					Offices of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois
					180 North Michigan Avenue
					Suite 2300
					Chicago, Illinois
					(312) 201-9740

A recent policy change in the Illinois Department of Vital Records denies the ability to get a new, accurate birth certificate issued for a specific group of persons in Illinois – specifically, transgender individuals who have elected to have gender confirmation surgery outside the United States. This policy stands in direct contrast to the nearly four-decade-old practice in Illinois of issuing new birth certificates to individuals who have elected to undergo gender confirmation surgery overseas. Because the birth certificate is a “fundamental, core” document to establishing one’s identity, it is critical that all persons have birth certificates that reflect their accurate and real gender.

Attorneys for the ACLU of Illinois are bringing a challenge to this policy on behalf of two women born in the United States who traveled to Thailand in recent years for gender modification surgery. The lawsuit, to be filed on Tuesday in the Circuit Court of Cook County, seeks to compel officials with the Illinois Department of Vital Records to issue new, accurate birth certificates for the two named plaintiffs and others facing similar circumstances.

Representatives from the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, the two named plaintiffs in the case and a therapist who assists transgender individuals will be available for interviews at the event.

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