“There can be only one mother” on the birth certificate. This is what a clerk at a registry office in Cambridge, UK, said to Sarah Osborne when her partner gave birth.
After being denied the right to appear as the mother on the birth certificate, Sarah was forced to adopt her own child.
Now the UK High Court has overturned the adoption order, invalidated the original birth certificate and ruled that she must be recognized as the mother on the document.
Following the court decision, Sarah, 48, said she was “glad and excited to be registered as the mother of my child, which I always have been”.
At the time of birth in 2014, the law was clear that samesex female couples who have had a child through IVF and who have agreed to be considered the parents must appear on the child’s birth certificate.
But when Sarah and her partner Helen Arnold wanted R the birth at the registry office, she was told that she could not be included in the certificate.
Sarah Osborne (right) with partner Helen Arnold: She finally has the right to be on her son’s birth certificate
PICTURED: RAEPH BALLANTYNE/BBC
The officer said her name could not appear on the document unless Sarah was the father, which she “clearly was not”.
“The disrespectful, undignified, impertinent attitude of the staff made me feel stupid for asking or expecting to appear as a mother,” Sarah explained, “as if I were a random stranger on the street.”
The family were told Sarah would have to adopt as a “stepmother” when the child was 6 months old.
Several meetings with social workers were planned in 2015 to assess her suitability as a mother.
She had to be told that adopting a child was “not to be underestimated”, had to undergo a criminal background check and apply for a court adoption order, which was granted in November 2015.
It wasn’t until the couple had their second child in 2018 and Sarah was registered as the mother that they realized something was wrong. “Sarah should never have adopted our son,” Helen said.
“We have always been mothers to our children and it is outrageous that we went through the painful and humiliating process of Sarah having to adopt.”
Family attorney Jeremy Ford praised the women for giving up their right to anonymity? and “to draw national attention to this issue because there may be other couples who have suffered the same injustice.”
Cambridgeshire County Council said it acknowledged the impact of the events.
“We hope that today’s hearing will provide a clear path forward so that the necessary legal steps can be taken to obtain a birth registration listing both parties as parents,” a council spokesman said.
“We recognize the impact this has had on the family and are grateful for the opportunity to work with Registry on a review to prevent a family or local authority ever finding themselves in a similar situation again. “
Text originally published at https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/geral62238468