Truthful and Factual Birth Certificates Are of Vital Importance

We Must Preserve Accurate Historical Records

Photo by Gabriel Tovar on Unsplash

Many businesses, medical professionals, government officials of various kinds, and segments of the public need to rely on the truthfulness of official documents. States are entrusted with the responsibility to make and protect reliable historical records, including by recording the objective facts surrounding the birth of a child.

A birth certificate is a statement of fact issued by an official authority attesting to the truthfulness of a birth. One cannot just change the facts later. Yet, many US states allow “original” birth certificates to be falsified with the opposite sex in the gender field and with a new name without the knowledge or consent of the parents, whose names also appear on the documents.

A birth certificate is not the property of the child whose birth is documented. It is a factual record that belongs to the public. It is a factual record not only of the child in question but also of the mother who gave birth to the baby and, in many cases, of the child’s father. Besides the fact that changing the contents of an original document is not honest or in keeping with the public trust placed in the recordkeeper, it is also not respectful to the lived experience of a mother who vividly remembers the day of her daughter’s or son’s birth or of a father who also has his own vivid personal connection to the documented facts. It is with good cause that many US citizens are gravely concerned when historical/medical/birth/vital records have been altered based on wishes and feelings, not the truth.

If any official modifies a document other than for a clerical error, the official demonstrates a lack of trustworthiness and veracity. If an official was following a current law as part of a government job and feared losing employment for not complying with altering the document, then it is time to pause and question the ethics of forcing an employee to alter the truth.

It is not possible to change one’s sex, only to modify the exterior appearance of sex traits with drugs and surgeries. One may exercise personal agency to request that others call one by a different name and opposite-sex language and to dress and style oneself as the opposite sex. And one may legally change one’s name for marriage, divorce, and other reasons, and these name changes may occur on driver’s licenses and other forms of identification. It is quite a different matter to demand the erasure of facts on the historical record of a birth certificate.

I am one person among many in the US who are directly impacted by the birth certificate issue. My name is now on an “original” birth certificate that has been falsified and does not reflect the truth and facts that occurred on the day of my daughter’s birth. This issue has devastated my family and thousands of other families and parents.

It is not hate, cruelty, or an existential threat, as some media outlets have reported, when people, parents, and state governments work to maintain factual and truthful records of birth. Some media outlets have even gone so far as to imply that maintaining accurate birth records is incompatible with love. This presumption is false; valuing truthful birth documentation certainly can coexist with love. Labeling the value of truthful documentation as a hateful value misleads everyone and reveals the bias of anyone who would make the claim.

I am not addressing any other form of documentation (such as driver’s licenses) because the parent’s name is not on those documents. A mom, and usually a dad, are listed on a birth certificate, so that document is not the same as any other form of ID. As a nation and state by state, we must focus on birth certificates and maintain them as accurate birth records by our state vital records departments. If birth certificates are modified for identity preferences, a history of all versions must be included and visible within the document. The integrity of these records matters for medical, identity-establishment, and genealogical purposes. Additionally, the parent’s perspective and the impact on the whole family matter.

Washington State was in the news and social media in February 2025 with this comment: “Very proud to announce the Department of Health will now process all requests to change gender designation on birth certificates within three business days,” said Bob Ferguson, Washington State Governor. “Previously, there was as much as a 10 month wait.”

Ferguson’s approach is an obvious affront to the sanctity of reliable public information. Due to the lack of common sense and respect for truthful and factual vital records in the US, and given the apparent inclination of some public servants to pander to the interests of those who favor untruthful public records, the time is now to speak to your state’s legislators and governor to advocate for truthful and factual birth certificates. It may take a few years to reverse laws and policies that allow the falsification of these documents. Research the laws and policies in your state. In states where the laws have been made inconsistent with reliable, truthful records, they must be changed.

The offending laws will not magically correct themselves; changing the laws will require citizens like you to speak up for the truth. Here is a letter template. With only small modifications, you can use it to contact your state officials.

Template for Protesting the Alteration of a Birth Certificate

To: State of _________ Vital Records, Birth Unit

From: Parent’s name

Date:

I am issuing an official protest of the alteration of facts on a birth certificate—a historical/medical/hospital record.

Historical facts and original documents should not be subject to revision, deletion, or falsification based on feelings. A history of all versions of the document must be included and visible within the document.

The name and sex were changed on the birth certificate of my [daughter or son] without notification, permission, or consent from me, her/his [mother or father], who is listed on this document.

A unilateral alteration of a legal document with my name on it without my participation is not acceptable. The fluid nature of feelings is not a cause for the changing of facts.

I, [parent’s name], [gave birth to/am the parent of] a biological [female or male], [child’s name], on [date of birth]. As a [mother or father], I attest that the truthfulness of the original facts of that day, as confirmed by the medical team and many extended family members, are not in error.

I request that the truthful facts of that day on the original birth certificate be reinstated.

[Parent’s name]

~

For a deeper look at a parent’s perspective on this topic, I suggest reading the article entitled Erasing History and Parental Experiences for Feelings and Wishes: Do Birth Certificate Facts and Truth Still Matter? Very few people are aware of this issue, and for those who value truth, it is time to address it. Executive orders have shifted the tide in matters of sex and gender, but parents and those who care about accurate vital records of births need to model courage, speak up, and undertake action on a grassroots level. Please join me.

Lisa Shultz advocates for truthful and factual birth certificates and also parents’ and women’s rights. She is deeply concerned about the influence of gender identity ideology and the lack of comprehensive, ethical care for children and vulnerable adults.