Death Certificate Gender Identity (H 7765A, S 2614A)

No person should face the end of their life worrying if their memory will be negated by someone's ignorance or, worse, hostility. Legislation introduced this session ensures that no person will be misgendered on their death certificate, either by accident or on purpose. As only a small percentage of self-identified transgender individuals undergo gender reassignment surgery, physical characteristics are not a definitive way to determine gender identity. This legislation clarifies how to record gender on a death certificate by providing guidelines to the person filling out the certificate when a decedent’s gender identification differs from the gender assigned to them at birth or where a decedent’s physical characteristics do not correlate with the decedent's self-identified gender. The House and Senate both approved this legislation in June.