Surrogacy bill, death certificate bill pass second reading at D.C. Council

Two bills passed their second and final readings Tuesday afternoon on the consent calendar at the D.C. Council’s legislative meeting:

Collaborative Reproduction Amendment Act of 2016, Bill 21-16

Death Certificate Gender Identity Recognition Amendment Act of 2016, Bill 21-444

The first of these legalizes and regulates surrogate parenting agreements in the District. GLAA and our coalition partners have pushed this for four years. Special thanks and congrats to Alison Gill who coordinated our coalition effort.

The second clarifies the process for designating a decedent’s gender identity or expression on their death certificate. Lack of respect for people’s gender identities after their deaths has been a recurring problem.