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ACLU sues on transgender birth certificate

CHICAGO, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- The American Civil Liberties Union says it will sue Illinois for refusing to issue a new birth certificate to a citizen who underwent a sex-change operation.

Attorneys announced the lawsuit in Chicago Tuesday, saying the state Department of Vital Records had routinely changed birth certificates for transgender people for more than 40 years before recently pulling the plug on the practice.

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The ACLU called birth certificates a fundamental document people need to legally and accurately establish their identity.

The Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald said Tuesday the lawsuits were focused on American citizens who undergo gender-changing surgery overseas. The plaintiffs in the case are two women born in the United States who underwent surgery in Thailand.

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