Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is stepping in to block trial courts from authorizing changes to gender markers on birth certificates. On Tuesday, he announced his intervention in several cases where Hoosiers have asked courts to order the Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) to change the sex listed on their birth certificates to align with their gender identity.
In a press release, Rokita argued that making such changes amounts to “falsifying records.”
“We’re taking a stand not only for the rule of law but also for common sense,” Rokita said.
“Indiana law requires birth certificates to reflect the historical, immutable fact of a child’s sex. One should have no more ability to change the listed sex on a birth certificate years after the fact than to change the newborn’s listed length or weight.”
He emphasized that the state has a vested interest in maintaining its birth certificate standards and noted that courts have already ordered the IDOH to amend the sex listed on numerous birth certificates.
Rokita’s move follows a March executive order issued by Governor Mike Braun. The order halted Indiana’s process of updating gender markers on state-issued documents such as birth certificates and driver’s licenses.
Braun’s order also directed state agencies to interpret the term “sex” as an “immutable biological classification” determined at conception—an approach that does not recognize intersex individuals.
Before the executive order, people in Indiana could request a gender marker change on their birth certificate by obtaining a court order. The IDOH would then issue an amended certificate. Since the order took effect, the Vital Records Division has stopped processing these requests.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed a class-action lawsuit in March challenging the executive order but declined to issue a new comment following Rokita’s announcement.
Indiana Legal Services (ILS), which assists hundreds of Hoosiers each year with name and gender marker changes, also said it had no statement at this time. ILS offers free legal support and resources on gender identity-related legal matters, including representation and referrals.