AUSTIN, Texas — Texas is not allowing transgender people to use court orders to get their sex changed on their birth certificates. This comes just weeks after DPS stopped accepting those orders for people trying to update driver's licenses.
We reached out to the Department of State Health Services and they sent us a statement saying the department is seeking assistance from the Attorney General's office to determine if the court orders can change vital records.
Their full statement reads, "Recent public reports have highlighted concerns about the validity of court orders purporting to amend sex for purposes of state-issued documents. DSHS is seeking assistance from the Office of Attorney General to determine the applicability of these concerns to amendments to vital records. DSHS is no longer altering applicants’ sex on birth certificates based on these court orders."
A spokesperson for the ACLU of Texas says advocates are worried about what these changes will mean for the next legislative session.
"It's going to be rough and I know that there's aspects of this coming election that could change what that looks like," said Ash Hall with the Texas ACLU. "But I think no matter what, we're going to be looking at a deluge of anti-transgender bills yet again."
The department will let people request a sex change to correct an error or inaccuracy if they have a letter from the hospital saying it needs to be fixed.