by Michelle Stein posted in Pregnancy

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a law in Arkansas that discriminated against same-sex parents when it comes to birth certificates.
The case was brought by two married lesbian couples, who each conceived children using anonymous sperm donors. While the biological mothers were listed on the birth certificates in both instances, state officials refused to include their spouses' names, explaining they weren't entitled to "a husband's presumption of paternity."
So how was this still a thing in 2017, you ask"
Despite the Supreme Court's landmark decision in 2015 to strike down state bans on same-sex marriage, some states continued putting husbands of new mothers on birth certificates, even if they weren't the biological fathers -- while not affording same-sex couples the equal right. The state argued that in most cases, the husbands were the fathers and "unlike a husband, a mother's female spouse will never be a marital child's biological parent." Never mind that husbands are listed on birth certificates, even if it was a known fact that a sperm donor was used, or that a husband and a wife are both listed in IVF cases where neither of them are biological parents.)
Aside from the obvious validation this ruling brings to families with same-sex parents, it offers a number of practical benefits, too. "A child?s birth certificate affects parental decision-making authority in the medical and education...