Colorado Issues The State’s First Intersex Birth Certificate

Colorado has issued the first intersex birth certificate in the state, and one of the first in the nation.

A search for other cases where birth certificates have been revised to designate intersex shows only two in New York City.

The Vital Records Office at the Colorado Department of Health and Environment confirmed to CPR News that an individual submitted an application with enough supporting materials for the state to amend the birth certificate and identify the person as born intersex rather than male or female.

Intersex people are born with some biological characteristics that are considered female and other that are considered male.

The state did not provide the name of the individual, but Anunnaki Ray Marquez, a Florida resident, said they were the person who received the amended birth certificate.

Marquez, writing on their blog, said the months-long process required medical records and a letter from a Florida court saying Marquez was biologically born intersex.

"I wanted my birth finally honored, and that error on my original birth certificate finally corrected. The error that led to much of my life suffering," Marquez wrote on their blog.

Marquez could not be reached for comment.

The news follows a development earlier this week in the case of Dana Zzymm, an intersex Coloradan. A federal judge said Wednesday that U.S. officials cannot deny a passport application based solely on a refusal to select male or female for gender.