Same-sex parent named on birth certificate not automatically a legal parent, judge rules
A judge ruled against the second woman named on a child’s birth certificate. (Getty)
A family court judge has ruled that a woman who was named as a parent on a child’s birth certificate did not automatically acquire legal parental responsibility, meaning she cannot currently apply for a child arrangements order without first getting the court’s permission.
The case, Re X (female partner non-acquisition of parental responsibility), involved a former same-sex couple and their child, X. AR began a relationship with BM while BM was pregnant, and when X was born, the two women registered the birth with AR listed as a parent alongside BM. X’s genetic father, LY, has had no involvement in the child’s life and did not participate in the proceedings.
BM later alleged that she had been coerced into naming AR on the birth certificate and made serious allegations of domestic abuse against her. AR disputes that account and says the registrar voluntarily provided a same-sex birth registration form and registered her as a parent without asking for further information.
Recorder Sirikanda KC ultimately ruled that AR was not a legal parent because X was not born through assisted reproduction covered by the relevant provisions of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008. The judge applied the reasoning of a recent Court of Appeal decision, Re J, which established that simply being named as a parent on a birth certificate does not necessarily make someone a legal parent or give them parental responsibility.
The ruling does not mean AR cannot seek contact with X. Because she says she has acted as a psychological parent and wants an ongoing relationship with the child, the judge directed her to apply for permission to bring a section 8 application under the Children Act 1989.
The judge also raised a broader concern about what happened at the registry office. He warned that, if the accounts given by the women are accurate, there could be a practice of unmarried same-sex female couples who are not civil partners registering births with a non-genetic, non-gestational partner listed as a parent despite the legal criteria not being met.
