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Nation-first legislation to remove impositions on transgender Tasmanians passed through the upper house. A person or parent can now choose whether to have gender recorded on a birth certificate among a swathe of changes. When a child is born, the state's Registrar will still receive information as to whether a baby was born male or female but whether or not gender is recorded on a birth certificate when issue will change. A person will be able to change their gender officially without the need for sexual reassignment surgery. Murchison independent MLC Ruth Forrest in moving amendments to the omnibus bill said the changes would clearly set out a process for formal recognition. This included allowance for a 16 year old to apply to change their gender through a statutory declaration or for a parent or guardian of someone under 16 years old to do so on their behalf. IN OTHER NEWS: This may be accompanied by evidence that a person or young person had sought counselling before making the decision. Launceston independent MLC Rosemary Armitage failed to get approval for a further amendment which stipulated a person needed the advice of two medical professionals - a doctor and a psychiatrist - to do so. "I'm concerned that we are going from reassignment surgery to virtually nothing," Ms Armitage said. "It's a bar way too low." Rumney Labor MLC Sarah Lovell said the transgender community did not need more imposition to validate who they were. "They need to us to get the hell out of their way - they don't need help from us," Ms Lovell said. "To suggest that we know better is offensive. "We're not talking about an irreversible medical treatment." Ms Forrest successfully moved an amendment for a magistrate to approve registration of a gender change to a young person under the age of 16 with the consent of a parent or a guardian. She said a magistrate would not approve of a change if the child did not exhibit it was in their will or preference, or if they were unable to understand its meaning or implications. Ms Forrest also moved amendments to better protect transgender people who were pregnant. This extended as far as a woman who was pregnant at the time she underwent a gender change or if a transgender man with female reproductive organs was raped by a man and fell pregnant. Laws will now protect a person in first scenario to go through with the pregnancy and opt for an abortion in the latter. Windermere independent MLC Ivan Dean took exception to the the amendment and said it was poorly drafted and confusing. "Only females can give birth to children - I want to make that clear," he said. The new laws afford new protections for transgender people under the state's Anti-Discrimination Act. The omnibus legislation, which includes provisions to register same-sex marriages in the state, will now go to the House of Assembly later this month. Sign up to The Examiner's newsletters here:

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