Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Utah Pays Fees for Fighting Lesbian Parentship



Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes has decided to concede and end the battle against two mothers that wish to be listed on their child's birth certificate.

Utah officials, according to the couple, denied the request from Angie and Kami Roe months ago, soon after the US Supreme Court outlawed same-sex marriage bans. The couple sued Utah, saying they could only have the non-biological mother adopt the child as a step-parent--which they considered invasive, prolonged and unfair.

Heterosexual couples have no problem listing the husband and wife on an adopted child's birth certificate. Angie and Kami said they should be treated the same.

Many argue that it's unnatural to have same-sex parents, and that the birth certificate should reflect the biological parentage. In response, proponents say that it's not questioned when non-biological heterosexual parents are listed on the document, so why would a same-sex couple be different? In addition, the parents names on the birth certificate give them full guardianship over the child, which every organization must respect. Otherwise, schools, hospitals, and similar could deny one of these mothers the ability to make health decisions for the child in an emergency. Or, protective services could take the child away if the biological mother becomes incapacitated or dies.

The cost for the case is $24 thousand dollars for Utah. Although Sean Reyes is responsible for accruing the cost and losing the case, his bill will come out of tax-payer's pockets.

https://www.ksl.com/?sid=37031693&nid=148&title=utah-to-pay-24k-in-lesbian-couples-birth-certificate-case&s_cid=queue-22

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