Race was once public on birth certificates
She noted that the report mentions that previously, information on the race of a person’s parents was included on the public portion of the birth certificate and that information was recognized to facilitate discrimination.
“Thankfully, a change was made to obviate at least that avenue for discriminatory practices,” she said. “Now, likewise, the information on sex assigned at birth is being used to undermine the rights of our transgender, intersex, and nonbinary patients.”
Arlene Seid, MD, MPH, an alternate delegate from the American Association of Public Health Physicians, said the resolution protects the aggregate data “without the discrimination associated with the individual data.”
Sex no longer has a role to play in the jobs people do, she noted, and the designation shouldn’t have to be evaluated for something like a job interview.
“Our society doesn’t need it on an individual basis for most of what occurs in public life,” Dr. Seid said.
Dr. Underwood, Dr. Toler, Dr. Jackson, Dr. Smith, and Dr. Seid declared no relevant financial relationships.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.