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from the does-the-pensioner-want-to-repay-his-benefits-and-go-back-to-work,-too? dept.
In the quixotic battle against old age, some people use skin care and spin class.
That’s not enough for Emile Ratelband, a 69-year-old who feels like he’s in his 40s. The Dutch pensioner is asking a court in his hometown of Arnhem, southeast of Amsterdam, to change his birth certificate so that it says he took his first breath on March 11, 1969, rather than on March 11, 1949. The judges heard his case Monday and promised they would render a verdict in the next several weeks.
Ratelband sees his request as no different from a petition to change his name or the gender he was assigned at birth — and isn’t bothered that this comparison might offend transgender people, whose medical needs have been recognized by the American Medical Association. It comes down to free will, he maintains.
I want to be recognized as an alien trapped in an Earthling's body.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by bradley13 on Friday November 09 2018, @06:33AM (7 children)
In truth, it is no different. A birth certificate documents certain objective facts: this person was born at this place, at this time, to these parents, has this biological gender, etc.. These are facts, and (barring error) not subject to amendment.
If you later want cosmetic surgery, hormone treatment, or to lie about your age - for good reasons or bad - that's on you as an adult. Your actual DNA and actual age have not changed.
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 09 2018, @07:00AM
You make me laugh, you think facts are objective to a Lefty Marxist? AHAHAHAHAHA
AHAHAHAHAHAHA https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB2119 [ca.gov]
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Blymie on Friday November 09 2018, @10:35AM (4 children)
https://www.ontario.ca/page/changing-your-sex-designation-your-birth-registration-and-birth-certificate [ontario.ca]
https://www.thespec.com/news-story/6699791-same-sex-parents-names-will-both-go-on-birth-certificates/ [thespec.com]
The above trend is very, very troubling to me.
Birth certificates aren't about politics, how someone feels, identifies, and so on.
They're about a record of birth. They establish estate law, the control parental support, with extreme cases like this:
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/doctor-sues-gay-friend-for-child-support-16-years-after-he-first-donated-sperm-to-her [nationalpost.com]
They are important for genetic history, in terms of pre-existing, family conditions. It is important for health!
It is important if you wish to get specific VISAs, like a UK Ancestry VISA as a Canadian... which requires a grandparent or parent born in the UK.
It is important to settle nationality issues with children. The US bizarrely taxes Americans, even when not living in the US -- the consequences can be serious!!
Yet here we have people playing with the entire birth certificate system like it's a *joke*.
Things like gender and name changes? Well, I don't mind those as much.. because you're at least not changing ancestral information.
But even then? Revisionist history is WRONG WRONG WRONG.
What likely really needs to happen here, is a proper split between 'birth certificate' and the creation of 'family certificate'. Or something. One for use in day-to-day life, one for historical purposes.
Because this is.. wrong.
(Score: 2) by Blymie on Friday November 09 2018, @11:32AM
BTW, I was thinking on this... and I recall someone saying that it was important to 'erase' all traces of alternate genders, etc. So the person would not be traumatized.
But really, this is absurd. There will always be some clue. Are you going to throw out all history that says otherwise? And even so, memory exists too. One's own.
I don't mind the idea I touted, a split so that there is a birth and a family cert. Something separate one uses day-to-day, that everyone does, separate from genetic info.
But... I fail to see the logic of trying to hide the truth, when there is no real way to do so.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Friday November 09 2018, @12:39PM (2 children)
Birth certificates may be important to those things, but why are those things important to us? Revisionist history is "WRONG WRONG WRONG" until someone uses that history against you.
(Score: 2) by Blymie on Friday November 09 2018, @02:46PM (1 child)
Well, at least where I am? People are looking at getting these things onto their certificates. They want to be demonstrated as , so while I agree that such records can be used against you?
This isn't much of case where I am. At least, the perception isn't.
I'll certainly agree that 'bad things' can happen from 'good intended uses' of records. Like Norway, town records, WWII + the Germans... indicating where you want to be buried, a "good thing" so everyone was happy... can be bad if you indicate 'Jewish cemetery' and then society is overthrown with anti-semantics....
(Score: 3, Touché) by Freeman on Friday November 09 2018, @04:48PM
I don't know, being overthrown by anti-semantics might be just fine. There's quite a bad history of anti-semitics, though.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 09 2018, @03:31PM
Incorrect terminology - they contain legal facts. When I was adopted, by BC was updated to list adopted father.