Transgender doctor seeks emergency name change

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A recent graduate of the University of  Rochester Medical School, who is transgender, has filed an emergency application for a name change so that she can help respond to a possible surge in COVID-19 cases locally.

Courts are closed to non-essential business because of the coronavirus pandemic, but the petitioner’s attorney, Milo Primeaux, is asking for the petition to be designated as essential.

Name changes are usually “pretty routine,” said Primeaux, who has handled name changes for hundreds of transgender clients across the state.

“This was certainly something that stood out as time sensitive and needing to be addressed sooner rather than later in the context of the public health crisis, so were hopeful that the court will deem it essential so that it can move forward,” he said.

The petitioner is planning to start a full-time residency in another state in June, but her name needs to be changed before she can complete various legal, regulatory, accreditation, licensing and insurance filings.

In the meantime, she is planning to work during April and May as a temporary resident at the University of Rochester Medical Center department of emergency medicine if needed to handle COVID-19, which would require similar filings with her legal name.

“The Petitioner reasonably believed she would have enough time to obtain her legal name change ahead of starting her residency in June, but the onset of the global pandemic has accelerated the need and urgency for the name change in order to be ready to start work sooner,” according to the petition filed electronically Thursday in state Supreme Court in Rochester.

“Practicing medicine under her stereotypically masculine given name would cause immense confusion because it is completely inconsistent with her feminine gender expression,” according to the petition.

Using her given name would reveal her transgender status and could create confusion among staff and patients, according to the petition.

“The petitioner’s given name, as it appears on identity documents, exposes her to transphobic animus and violence because it does not align with the petitioner’s personal appearance and identity,” according to the petition.

The petition also asks to have the order granting the name change exempted from publication rules, and that records associated with the case be sealed from the public because of the resulting possible violence and discrimination.

“The petitioner fears that both public access to and publication of this name change will effectively disclose the petitioner’s protected status to the community and, as a result place the petitioner at increased risk of hate crimes, harassment, and other discrimination,” according to the petition.

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