The state of Washington is deliberating on the prospect of adding a third option for gender on its birth certificates. If approved, the state's birth certificates will include the option of selecting "X" as the gender of the baby instead of male or female.
The Washington State Department of Health held a hearing on the matter on Tuesday in order to get the comments and opinions of the public. If the new rule gets sanctioned, it would take effect starting early next year.
However, the move is facing opposition from several groups for various reasons. Pro-women group Hands Across the Aisle Coalition (HATAC) is resisting the new rule as part of their stance that biological sex should not be replaced with gender identity.
For them, the gender identity movement goes against the sex-based protections that many women have fought for. Kaeley Triller Haver, co-founder of HATAC, also criticized the decision to hold public hearings on the debated matter.
"Major policy changes like this are often discussed in the middle of a work day during the holiday season when the average person is too busy to attend," said Haver.
According to the Family Policy Institute of Washington (FPIW), the addition of a gender-neutral option in birth certificates would threaten the integrity of state records.
"There is a biological reality here of male or female, and that is what our official records ought to indicate," said Chris Plante, chief operations officer of FPIW.
Currently, Washington allows individuals to change their gender. The proposed third option on birth certificates would be the first non-binary option to be implemented by the state.
Oregon was the first state to allow non-binary options in official documents. It started allowing a gender-neutral option in birth certificates earlier this year. California is set to follow suit as it starts allowing non-binary birth certificates next year.
