OK Governor Orders Agency to Stop Issuing Non-binary Birth Certificates: Not Permitted Under State Law
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has directed the State Department of Health to stop issuing birth certificates with a non-binary option instead of male or female.
The department had started issuing the gender-neutral documents after reaching a settlement agreement in a civil case.
But the first-term Republican governor said in his order that his administration never reviewed or approved the settlement agreement, which requires the Oklahoma State Department of Health to amend birth certificates – a move which is not permitted under Oklahoma law.
Stitt said his order ensures that that unauthorized action will be corrected.
The order directs the department to stop amending birth certificates in any way not specifically authorized under state law and to remove from its website any reference to non-binary birth certificates for people who do not identify as male or female.
Stitt also directed the state Legislature to pass a law when it returns next year to specifically prohibit the issuance of birth certificates with non-binary designations.
Nichole McAfee, the executive director of Freedom Oklahoma, which advocates for nonbinary and other LGBTQ people, said the governor does not have the authority to overturn an agreement entered into in a court of law.
Stitt's office declined to comment. A spokeswoman told the Associated Press the order speaks for itself.
The agency issued a birth certificate in May to Oregon resident Kit Lorelied who was born in Oklahoma, identifies as non-binary, and uses they/them pronouns.
Lorelied sued after the Oklahoma State Department of Health initially refused the request. The department, represented by the Office of the Attorney General, reached a settlement in May in which it agreed to add non-binary as an option on birth certificates.
Stitt and other Republican leaders in the Legislature expressed outrage after learning of the decision last month, and the Commissioner of Health Lance Frye resigned the following day.
The Health Department issued a statement saying it would work with the governor and the Office of the Attorney General on any orders for amendments to birth certificates that fall outside the scope of current law.
As CBN News reported last month, the U.S. State Department also announced it had issued its first passport with an "X" gender marker, offering a third option for U.S. passport holders who say they don't identify as female or male.
The government policy shows the full force of the transgender movement. Irreversible Damage author Abigail Shrier called it "one of the clearest indications that gender ideology has infiltrated the highest levels of the federal government."
The change is a challenge for many who hold biblical beliefs about gender and sexuality.
David Kubal, president of Intercessors for America, opposes the policy. "They're putting the stamp of human rights on people's thoughts on what is moral and it's actually immoral," he said.
New research is also raising questions about transgender medicine.
Dr. Lisa Littman published a study in the Archives of Sexual Behavior showing that the majority of those who have de-transitioned, that is, reversed their initial decision to change their gender identity, say they did not receive an adequate evaluation from a medical care provider before they initially transitioned.
Speaking on the Megyn Kelly Show she said it's heartbreaking what's happened to some of these patients. "These young people didn't get the evaluation, the support, the kind of mental health services that they needed and instead were really rushed to medical transition and surgery," she said.
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