Media Release 19 Aug 2017
Family First NZ says that politicians have deemed birth certificates meaningless as a result of a decision by the Government Administration select committee to recommend that birth certificates be based on the choice of the person.

“By choosing your own gender in your birth certificate, the certificates will become an object of unscientific gender ideology and effectively tell medical professionals that they got it wrong at time of birth,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

“And just how many genders will be listed. Facebook have more than 70, and counting.”

“It is disturbing that politicians want to ignore biological reality in favour of an ideology with no scientific backing, and in the process, simply bring about confusion and ambiguity,” says Mr McCoskrie.

“A birth certificate is a historical record based on fact – not a political tool to further an agenda.”

A report which analysed over 200 peer-reviewed studies in the biological, psychological, and social sciences, concluded:

• The belief that gender identity is an innate, fixed human property independent of biological sex—so that a person might be a ‘man trapped in a woman’s body’ or ‘a woman trapped in a man’s body’—is not supported by scientific evidence.
• Only a minority of children who express gender-atypical thoughts or behaviour will continue to do so into adolescence or adulthood. There is no evidence that all such children should be encouraged to become transgender, much less subjected to hormone treatments or surgery.

“Gender identity ideology simply confuses and harms children and young people, and ignores biological reality. For politicians to push this ideology is deeply concerning,” says Mr McCoskrie.

(This is the same select committee who almost attempted to remove husband and wife from marriage certificates during the same-sex marriage debate but were forced to backtrack.)
ENDS