Texas Senate passes bill prohibiting the changing of sex designation on birth certificates of transgenders

By BETHANY BLANKLEY | THE CENTER SQUARE

The Texas Senate passed a bill to prohibit individuals in Texas from changing their biological sex on their birth certificates in most cases. It was filed after some judges and school officials appear to be circumventing state law that bans biological men and boys from participating in women’s and girls’ sports.

The Texas Senate passed SB 406 filed by state Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, who also authored bills to protect women and girls in sports, bathrooms, locker rooms and other spaces.

Alaska has no such law protecting the accuracy of birth certificates and has not passed legislation protecting girls’ athletics from transgender intrusion.

In fact, Alaska allows individuals to amend the gender marker on their birth certificates. The Alaska Department of Vital Records will update the sex designation upon receiving documentation, such as a letter from a licensed medical provider, such as a physician, social worker, or psychologist, attesting to the individual’s gender transition or identity, or a court order certifying the change. The amended birth certificate will note that the sex designation has been changed, but the state does not issue an entirely new certificate replacing the original. This means Alaska’s vital records align with an individual’s gender preference, even if there is no surgical intervention.

The Texas legislation, SB 406, would amend the state Health and Safety Code to require birth certificates to state an individual’s biological sex at birth, “as determined by their sex organs, chromosomes, or endogenous profile.” It would prohibit birth certificates from being issued that change the biological sex of an individual unless there is a clerical error, the original birth certificate doesn’t list the person’s biological sex at birth, or for a few other reasons.

The bill “ensures Texas birth certificates remain accurate, consistent, and reflective of biological reality,” Middleton said after the bill passed. “A birth certificate, like a death certificate, is a snapshot in time that records accurate vital statistics existing at birth. A birth certificate states God given sex, either XX or XY.”

He also pointed to President Donald Trump’s executive order stating there are only two biological sexes, male and female, “which expressly excludes gender identity,” he said. He also pointed to Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive to state agencies to follow Trump’s executive order and disregard court orders to change an individual’s biological sex on their birth certificates and driver’s licenses.

Last month, Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a legal opinion arguing that state district courts don’t have the constitutional authority to direct government agencies to change a person’s biological sex on government-issued identification documents, including driver’s licenses, birth certificates, and ID cards that is contrary to their biology. He also directed state agencies to correct and reverse any documents they may have altered related to gender, The Center Square reported.

The Senate also passed Middleton’s bill after Paxton sued Dallas ISD after finding “alarming evidence” that its administrators “had implemented an unwritten policy of encouraging students to alter their birth certificates to play sports” in violation of state law, The Center Square reported.

They reportedly did so after Abbott in 2021 signed a bill into law to prohibit K-12 students from competing in interscholastic athletic competitions designated for the opposite biological sex. In 2023, he also signed another bill into law prohibiting biological men from competing on a team or as an individual against women in college sports, authored by Middleton, The Center Square reported.

SB 406 “closes a loophole courts created with no authority to try and change vital statistics from the time of birth,” Middleton said. 

He also said that judges changing biological sex on birth certificates “could potentially undermine the integrity of sex-specific sports categories. After passing the Save Women’s Sports Act in the 88th legislature to ensure fairness and opportunity for all Texan women, there are concerns that individuals may attempt to circumvent these laws by amending their birth certificates to reflect a gender ideology and not biological sex.”

SB 406 isn’t about “restricting anyone’s personal expression,” Middleton said, but is “about ensuring that legal documents reflect accurate statistics and that our laws can be effectively enforced. By keeping birth certificates fact-based, we are taking another step to preserve the fairness and integrity of women’s sports and other sex-based protections, as well as safety for women in private spaces.”

The bill passed along party lines and was sent to the Texas House.

In the Texas House, a bill was also filed that would make it a felony for individuals who knowingly make a false or misleading verbal or written statement to a governmental entity or their employer by claiming to be a gender that is contrary to their biological sex.

Middleton also authored one of two companion bills filed in the Texas Senate and House to prohibit individuals from using state-funded facilities that are designated for use by the opposite sex. It bans biological males from using state-funded women’s facilities like in jail or prison cells, domestic violence shelters, public bathrooms, locker rooms or other facilities, The Center Square reported.