Nothing like a woman about to have a baby to spur people into action. New York State officials have been pondering the many ways they need to carry out Gov. David Paterson’s directive that state agencies respect out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples.
New York residents Carolyn Trzeciak and Nina Sheldon Trzeciak, who married in Canada in 2006, and are expecting their first child, decided to move things along and sued the state last month, asking that both their names be placed on their child’s birth certificate when s/he is born. On Friday, the state Health Department agreed, saying “it had been exploring how to apply Paterson’s directive to birth certificates for some time, but arranged a quick resolution for the couple because the baby was expected as soon as Friday.” (Hmm. Perhaps I should have named this post “Lesbian Moms, Stat!“)
Thanks to this, married same-sex couples who have children in New York may now list both their names on their children’s birth certificates, as they can in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. The AP adds that this brings same-sex couples into parity with opposite-sex ones, because, “Under state law, a woman’s husband is automatically deemed a parent of a child the pair conceives through artificial insemination, whether or not he is the genetic father.” They also note that even though same-sex couples may be able to do second-parent adoptions, “having their names on a child’s birth certificate immediately gives both spouses such rights as nursery visits and information on the child’s medical condition.”
True, but as the article notes, LGBT legal experts (and I’m not one, so check with your own) recommend doing a second-parent adoption even if both names are on the birth certificate. The right of the non-bio parent to be on the birth certificate may not be recognized by states that don’t recognize the parent’s marriage. A second-parent adoption will, however, cement a relationship between the non-bio parent and the child in a way that all states should recognize.
Yeah, we shouldn’t have to do all this. But the New York ruling is a step forward.
I’m no lawyer, nor do I play one on TV, nor have I ever. But as a non-bio parent, currently (provisionally legally) married to a same-sex partner in CA, I’ve heard the same thing.
It can be a costly process (social worker home visit, legal advice &/or shepherding, etc., plus the county’s filing fees). But we have no other way of being assured of parenthood recognition, crossing state (and national) borders. Much less contending with the random homophobe/heterosexist at home.
Oh. And I should add: I heart NY!
I agree about making sure to still get the second-parent adoption process.
FWIW, this might be slightly off topic, but in IL, if a same-sex couple adopts a child, once you go through the home study, etc, the birth certificate is re-written to include both parents name on the birth certificate. Of course, in an adoption, the legal-issues have already been taken care (as a part of the process!) of by the time the certificate is redone.
I could be wrong, but I believe even in a bio/non-bio mom situation, the same would be true (but I’m not a lawyer)!!
22 years ago in California the head of the Bureau of Vital Statistics refused to change our adopted daughter’s birth certificate (after we were granted the ‘first openly-gay joint adoption’ in CA).
He left our daughter’s biological parents names on the document (the heterosexual couple from whom she was removed at the age of 18 months due to severe abuse and neglect) and took the position that the judge who granted the adoption was ‘ahead of his time’.
It took our state representative (Jackie Spier) 3 years to change this practice and allow both of our names to show on our daughter’s birth certificate.
To us, it meant that the ‘officials’ in schools, community & athletic groups, etc. had to work/deal with us, not because they so deigned, but because we were the PARENTS.
Onward!!
I would love to write a letter of thanks to these brave women! I was just gearing up for the same legal battle. I couldn’t stomach the idea that my partner and i could so meticulously plan something and she could not be on the birth certificate from the hospital. Whereas anyone could get knocked up in a bar by some guy they didnt know and that schmuck *could* be on the birth certificate.
Thank you for going to bat for our familes.
and I also <3 NY and am proud to call it home.