Woman Fights To Prove Her Gender After Decades-Old Mistake On Birth Certificate
CHICAGO (CBS)-- It's a battle that one south suburban Alsip woman never thought she'd have to fight.
Annie Ban had to prove she's a woman after discovering a decades-old mistake on her birth certificate.
Annie and her husband, Don, who have been married for 34 years, went to apply for TSA Precheck. The agent said there was a problem.
"She says, 'Your wife is a man. It says so on the birth certificate,'" Don said.
"I've been married to my husband for 34 years and he can vouch that I'm a female," Annie said.
Unbeknownst to Annie, during her 57 years of life, her Illinois state-issued birth certificate listed her as a male.
Annie thinks the error might have been overlooked, because both of her parents spoke only Polish at the time of her birth.
Getting that single word fixed on her birth certificate proved much more difficult and expensive than the Bans could ever have imagined.
Don said they twice filled out an affidavit requesting a correction to Annie's birth certificate, had it notarized, and sent it in to the state.
"Obviously that wasn't enough," he said.
The Bans had to schedule a trip to the doctor to write a note certifying that she's a woman. They had to pay to have documents notarized.
Last week, they received a letter saying that's not enough.
"What do we need, the Pope to come down?" Don said.
The letter they received stated Annie needs to provide a list of documents to prove that she's really a woman, including school records and medical records from before the age of 19.
Annie's elementary and high schools are no longer in existence, and her pediatrician passed away years ago.
Without those records, the letter states that they might have to take the issue to court.
"I have enough proof that says I am a female," Annie said. "I don't know what else they need except for me maybe go stand in front of them naked?"
After CBS 2 got involved, the Illinois Department of Public Health reviewed the file and said they are going to fix Annie's birth certificate without all of the extra documents.
Annie couldn't be happier to finally set the record straight.
