Twice the Legislature has passed a bill amending the law and allowing a birth certificate to be changed upon request, but Gov. Chris Christie vetoed it.
TRENTON -- A transgender woman has sued the state Health Department for refusing her request to amend her birth certificate, according to the complaint filed in federal court.
State law requires a transgender person to prove he or she has undergone sexual reassignment surgery before the health department will change the gender on a birth certificate. But the plaintiff, identified as Jane Doe, does not intend to get the surgery that would change her anatomy from male to female, according to the lawsuit.
Calling the requirement "a state-sanctioned compulsion," the lawsuit accuses the state of violating her due process and equal protection rights under the constitutional "to define her bodily integrity" and "personal autonomy."
Democrats fail to override veto of transgender birth certificate bill
Lee Moore, spokesman for the Attorney General's Office which represents state agencies in legal matters, declined to comment on the case that was filed Friday.
Twice the state Legislature has passed a bill, (S1195) allowing a transgender person's birth certificate to be changed based on a doctor's certification. Gov. Chris Christie vetoed it both times, citing security concerns with altering "one of the most important legal documents that a person possesses."
"Proposed measures to revise the standards for the issuance of amended birth certificates must be accompanied by appropriate safeguards to mitigate security risks," according to Christie's veto message.
Christie also publicly defended his veto, calling the intent of the bill "beyond the pale," according to the complaint.
"To have a bureaucracy or people think we are immoral or think we are mentally ill is not right, and is not the way the United State government is set up," said Julie Chovanes, co-founder of the Trans-Help, a national advocacy organization in Philadelphia who is representing the plaintiff with Haddonfield attorney Paul R. Fitzmaurice.
"If people don't get this, they have to understand these are children of God just like them, and the want to be recognized how God made them," she said.
Trans-Help filed a successful lawsuit against Pennsylvania, resulting in an amended birth certificate and a change in the law, Chovanes said. In August, Pennsylvania became the 12th state to no longer require proof of sex reassignment surgery to amend a birth certificate.
The lawsuit was first reported by the New Jersey Law Journal.
Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.