Mexico's top court orders new birth certificate for person who underwent sex change

‘Everyone has the right to define their own sexual and gender identity and it is the state’s responsibility to guarantee this decision’

People march during a Gay Pride Parade in Mexico City's Reforma Avenue; the country is slowly moving towards equal rights for LGBT+ peopel (Getty)

Mexico’s top court has ordered officials to grant a new birth certificate for a resident who underwent a sex change.

The country’s Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the state of Jalisco to supply the new document to reflect the person’s change in sex and name.

It marks another step forward towards equal rights in the socially conservative country.

“As the Supreme Court has argued in other cases, everyone has the right to define their own sexual and gender identity and it is the state’s responsibility to guarantee this decision, which is reflected in the different documents, mainly in the birth certificate,” the court said in a statement.

The court said the person, who was not identified, could go to the civil registry directly to request the new birth certificate, which is required for an array of legal and bureaucratic procedures in Mexico.

In January, the court ruled that same-sex partners have a right to receive the social security benefits of their deceased partner after the Mexican Social Security Institute said this benefit was not afforded to homosexual couples.

Additional reporting by Reuters