Transgender woman sues Idaho over birth certificate policy

A transgender woman is suing Idaho in federal court for refusing to change the gender listed on her birth certificate.

Most states allow people to change their birth certificate to reflect their gender identity rather than the gender they were assigned at birth. Only Idaho, Kansas, Ohio and Tennessee have policies or laws prohibiting such changes.

In the lawsuit, the 28-year-old identified only with the initials F.V. says she has been living as a woman since she was 15. She lives in Hawaii now but was born in Boise, and so asked the Idaho Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics to change the gender listed on her birth certificate earlier this year.

Idaho officials refused. In the lawsuit filed Tuesday, the woman contends that Idaho’s policy serves no valid purpose, subjects her to discrimination and burdens her right to define and reflect her gender identity.