Activist vying for non-binary birth certificate taking N.L. to court
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — A transgender activist vying for a non-binary birth certificate is taking legal action against the Newfoundland and Labrador government as part of an effort to have a gender other than male and female formally recognized on such documents.
Gemma Hickey has filed an application with the province’s Supreme Court in St. John’s challenging the change-of-sex designation provision of the Vital Statistics Act, saying it is unconstitutional and violates provincial and federal human rights legislation.
“I have a responsibility to myself as a person and to others like me because we essentially are erased. We don’t have any way to identify to show that we exist. It’s a human rights issue,” said Hickey in a phone interview Friday.
“I would like my birth certificate to include how I identify. That would make me feel more fulfilled as a person and give me that legitimacy that I don’t have now.”