New Bill Introduced in City Council Allows Transgender NY’ers to Change Their Sex Without Surgery

A set of proposals in the City Council seeks to expand transgender rights to allow a person’s own identity, not anatomy, to be the determining factor in how they define their sex, the New York Times reports.

The longstanding requirement of convertive surgery would be abandoned under the proposal, and old birth records, including all supporting documentation, would be sealed.

The twin proposals are being reviewed now and are prepared to redefine what constitutes a transition from one sex to another, allowing health practitioners, including psychologists, to weigh in.

The change would allow alterations to birth certificates as they seek employment, driver’s licenses or pension benefits, among other things, and is hailed as one of the most progressive for transgender rights around the country.

“Transgender New Yorkers face daily discrimination,” said Dru Levasseur, the transgender rights project director for Lambda Legal, on Tuesday. “We’ve come a long way in terms of our understanding.”