Mexican intersex woman sets precedent for privacy for transsexuals on birth certificates

Summary of articles from the Mexican press by Curtis E. Hinkle, founder of OII

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The Supreme Court of Mexico decided in favor of an intersex woman who changed sex so that her new birth certificate will have no mention whatsoever of her previous sex as male and all information concerning the original sex assignment will remain private.

In a press release, the Supreme Court analyzed the case of a transsexual who appealed a decision in 2005 which required that her birth certificate include a marginal note concerning the change of sex which she considered discriminatory and a violation of her constitutional rights.

The plaintiff asked the authorities to issue her a new birth certificate and that there be no revelation of her change of identity and that request was denied by the District Court.

The judges of the Supreme Court agreed to the request of the plaintiff and ordered that a new birth certificate be issued without the marginal annotation which would be only kept privately without public access.

The plaintiff was assigned male at birth. However, during her preadolescence she was medically diagnosed as a hermaphrodite. After undergoing a thorough psychological follow-up which lasted for years and which finally ended with a change of assigned sex, she started her life as a woman.

This decision ratifies the validity of the article in the Civil Code which requires the change of sex to be registered on birth certificates but which also indicates that it is unconstitutional to reveal this information publicly because it violates the non-discrimination principles in effect.

Sources from the Mexican press:
http://www2.esmas.com/noticierostelevisa/mexico/033004/scjn-aplaza-decision-sobre-amparo-transexual
http://actualidad.terra.es/nacional/articulo/suprema-corte-respalda-privacidad-identidad-2988907.htm
http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/567036.html

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