From le Monde, 13-14 December: The superior court [cour de cassation], in full assembly on Friday December 11, recognized the right of transsexuals to change their civil status. This judgement marks a reversal for the high court [juridication supreme], which has refused since 1975 to grant this possibility to 13 people who wanted to change their sex. Two transsexuals, Rene, 35, and Marc, 24, appealed to the superior court against two judgements of the court of appeals [cour d'appel] of Aix-en- Provence, which denied them the right to have the entries concerning their sex changed on their birth certificates, on the grounds that people's status is not at their own disposition (no one can modify the status which is theirs by virtue of law or nature). The superior court found in their favor by specifying: "When, following surgical treatment undergone for therapeutic purposes, a person displaying the syndrome of transsexualism no longer possesses all of the characteristics of his or her original sex, and has taken on a physical appearance approaching that of the other sex, the principle of due respect of privacy justifies the civil status indicating the sex which the person appears to be." This decision follows a judgement by the European court of human rights on March 25, which ordered France to pay an indemnity of 100,000 F [about $20,000] to Mr. Norbert B..., to whom it had denied a change of civil status since 1979. After years of legal battle, France thus aligns itself with other European countries such as Sweden, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, Turkey [!], Finland and Spain. But the importance of the judgement of the superior court is above all in the implied consequences. In theory, nothing further prevents the marriage of transsexuals or the possibility of their undertaking adoption procedures. [end of article] I hope I've given reasonable translations of the French legal terms. I was surprised to find this matter still under question. Anybody know what US law says about it? -- Mike Pettersen, Ecole Normale Superieure msp@physique.ens.fr Perfect love casteth out fear.