The U.S. Supreme Court, which many predicted would roll back LGBTQ rights with its new 6-3 conservative majority, has turned down a request to hear a case challenging same-sex parents being listed on birth certificates. The case would have undercut the guarantee of full marriage equality for same-sex couples nationwide.
The Supreme Court explicitly addressed the issue of birth certificates in the landmark 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision, determining same-sex couples are entitled to the “constellation of benefits” of marriage, including the issue of birth certificates for their children. Just two years later, the Supreme Court affirmed Obergefell applies to birth certificates in a separate case, Pavan v. Smith (in which Arkansas refused to place the name of the non-birth mother on the birth certificate of a child born to lesbian parents via an anonymous sperm donor). Based on the Supreme Court’s decision to turn down the challenge this week, justices appeared to have signaled the cases are no different and reaffirmed Obergefell and Pavan’s guarantee same-sex parents to have their names on the birth certificates of their children.
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