First Same-Sex Parents Jointly Sign Birth Certificate

Lesbian couple Natalie Woods and Elizabeth Knowles are officially the first same-sex couple to jointly sign a birth certificate in Britain, reports theDaily Mail. Knowles was listed where the father's name would typically be on the birth certificate for their daughter, Lily-May Betty Woods.

The couple described the signing as "quite a milestone" at the Register Office in the English seaside city of Brighton where they live. Lily's birth certificate is the result of the 2008 Human Fertilization and Embryology Act, which removed the words "mother" and "father" from birth certificates, to the dismay of many antigay groups. Woods and Knowles are listed as Lily's "parents" instead.

Woods spoke to the press after the signing, saying, "It is fantastic. Compared to [going] through the courts, this is really straightforward, and the way it should be. ... It's also good that we don't have any of the worries and concerns of me being the only legal parent."