Iowa Lesbian Couple Win Fight Over Child's Death Certificate

The two women sued after one's name was omitted from their stillborn son's death certificate, and a judge has ruled that both should be listed.

Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.

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Trudy Ring

December 20 2012 11:04 PM EST

November 17 2015 5:28 AM EST

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A married Iowa lesbian couple have won a fight with the state over inclusion of their names on their stillborn child's death certificate.

A judge earlier this month ordered that both Jennifer and Jessica Buntemeyer of Davenport be listed on the certificate as the legal parents of their son, Brayden, who was stillborn in October 2011, TV station WQAD reports. They said both of their names were originally listed on the documentation filed with the state, but Jennifer's name was removed (Jessica was the birth mother), so the couple sued. Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Health denied removing her name.

Judge Robert Hutchison wrote in his ruling that the department did not explain how listing only one parent on the certificate improved accuracy or efficiency, as officials had argued. The department also claimed that listing a mother's wife confuses the issue of paternity.

In the ruling, Hutchinson responded, "Denying same-sex couples the benefits of marriage violates equal protection unless the state can justify its action under heightened scrutiny. As parents, a mother's wife is identical to a mother's husband in every common and ordinary sense except for biology."

Iowa has legally recognized same-sex marriages since a state Supreme Court ruling in 2009.