Gender-neutral option added to Wisconsin birth certificates

Parents will have new, gender-neutral options for identifying themselves on a child’s birth certificate in Wisconsin starting July 1, Governor Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services announced Monday.

Starting July 1, birth forms will also begin using "parent giving birth" as opposed to the term mother. This is a move backed by the Biden administration, who also prefers the term "birthing person" to mother.

According to Fox 6, birth forms, which are used to generate birth certificates, will be updated to include the option for "parent-parent," in addition to the traditional "mother-father."

Evers said the change reflects the administration's commitment to recognizing diverse families and gender-neutral terminology.

"This change reflects my and my administration's commitment to gender-neutral terminology and to recognizing that Wisconsin families are diverse and should be valued and respected," said Evers.

"I am glad to see this change being made as we continue to update our state policies and procedures to better reflect the Wisconsinites we serve."

"We are working hard to make Wisconsin a more inclusive, equitable, and just state and this update ensures our LGBTQ Wisconsinites are seen and heard when welcoming a child into the world," said DHS Secretary-designee Karen Timberlake.

"Updating our birth certificate forms is one important step on the long road to adopting gender-neutral language in all of our external documents."

Forms filled prior to July 1 will have the opportunity to change their labels through the Vital Records Office.

Changes in these documents are reportedly consistent with other Wisconsin public-facing forms within Vital Records that have begun to use gender-neutral terminology like spouse-spouse.

Representative Gae Magnafici, the Republican chairwoman of the Assembly Family Law committee, said the policy "is something that even the best satire writers cannot imagine," according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

"The far-left liberals are at it again. Instead of acknowledging something as simple as a baby coming from a mom and dad, they deny science," Magnafici said.

"As the Assembly chair of Family Law, a nurse, and a mom, I am insulted. I’m calling on Governor Evers to stop downplaying womanhood, stop downplaying motherhood, and stop downplaying settled science."