Montana adopts permanent block on birth certificate changes

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Montana health officials on Friday made permanent a rule that blocks transgender people from changing their birth certificates even if they undergo gender-confirmation surgery.

The move by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte's administration comes just days before a court will hear arguments over the legality of a similar rule that's been in effect on an emergency basis since May. The ACLU of Montana has asked state Judge Michael Moses to strike down the emergency rule.

Moses in April had temporarily blocked a 2021 Montana law that made it difficult for transgender people to change their birth certificate.

The law said people had to have a “surgical procedure” before they could change the sex listed on their birth certificate. Gianforte's administration then went further and blocked changes to birth certificates even after surgery.

Over the last several years, conservative legislators in numerous states have sought to limit the rights of transgender people.

Only Tennessee, Oklahoma and West Virginia have similar sweeping prohibitions against birth certificate changes, advocates for transgender rights say. Bans in Idaho and Ohio were struck down in 2020.

Transgender plaintiffs represented by the ACLU of Montana have said a birth certificate that doesn’t match their gender identity puts them at risk of embarrassment, discrimination, harassment or violence if they are asked to provide their birth certificate.

ACLU attorney Akilah Lane said Friday's rule was “further evidence of the state's non-compliance” with Moses' April order. The judge will hear the matter during a Thursday hearing in Billings.

Prior to the new law, transgender people seeking to change their birth certificate in Montana needed only to provide an affidavit to the state health...