News
2006-11-16
Two moms to be
listed on New Jersey birth certificate
Two women will be
listed as parents on the birth certificate of a baby
born this week in New Jersey, one of the first implica
Two women will be
listed as parents on the birth certificate of a baby
born this week in New Jersey, one of the first implications
of a state supreme court ruling that gives same-sex
couples access to the same rights as married couples.
The state and the women agreed in a closed family
court proceeding Monday, the day before the child was born,
that both women should be listed in light of the
landmark high court ruling. A judge agreed with the
state and the women, lawyers said.
Assistant
Attorney General Patrick DeAlmeida said the women are the
first he knows of to take advantage of new rights
granted by the October 25 ruling. The Burlington
County women, who are registered as domestic partners,
did not want their names made public, their attorney Stephen
Hyland said.
Under state law,
the husband of a woman who gives birth through
artificial insemination is listed on the birth certificate
as the father. No such provision is made for lesbian
couples, who often go through lengthy and costly
adoptions to give both women equal rights as parents.
Parental rights
are especially important to children because they
establish inheritance rights and custody should a parent
die. Listing both parents on a birth certificate also
allows the child to be covered by the health insurance
of either parent.
The state supreme
court ruling said the state must extend all the rights
of marriage to gay couples and gave lawmakers six months to
work out the details—including whether the
unions should be called ''marriages.'' (AP)
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