Them Before Us filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court making one thing abundantly clear: Birth Certificates Exist for Kids, Not Adults.
Box vs Henderson is an Indiana case arguing the same-sex spouse of a biological parent should be listed on a child’s first and primary identifying document. Even though in 100% of those cases, the spouse listed will not be biologically related. That’s a problem because children have a natural right to both their mother and father.
What did we tell the highest court in the land? That listing “intended” rather than “biological” parents on a child’s birth certificate can:
- lead to incomplete medical history for kids
- contribute to an identity crisis
- complicate dating relationships
- place children in households with higher rates of abuse
- make children feel the State has overlooked their rights
While our amicus brief makes a strong legal case, the power of this brief is in the voice of the children we quote. Voices like these:
- Gregory Loy, conceived through an anonymous sperm donor has a birth certificate which lists his mother’s husband as his father, a man he believed to be his biological father for the first three decades of his life. When the truth came out, the revelation shattered him. To deal with the stress, he “went through a period of alcohol substance abuse.” In his own words, “[i]t nearly cost me my career and my family. The irony … is that had I known who my biological father was … I would have known that there was a family history of alcohol dependency. … I was denied critical medical information because I didn’t even know it existed.”
- Donor conceived Zave Fors could have up to a thousand half-siblings. “I went to high school with a half-brother and didn’t even know until years later. Due to the quantity of siblings and the fact that many donor-conceived people aren’t aware that they’re donor-conceived, I have to worry about accidental incest. Dating is hard enough without having to genetically screen all my Tinder matches.”
- Elizabeth Howard was conceived using an anonymous sperm donor. Her birth certificate lists her “social father” as her father. However, “[h]e was convicted of child sex abuse against my brother and other children and went to prison when I was 13. … My ‘social father’ who is a convicted pedophile is listed on my birth certificate and that pains me greatly.”
- Ben Smith was raised by his biological mother and her wife, both of whom were listed on his birth certificate. He notes that the fact “[t]hat my mother’s wife was able to be listed as my second parent allowed my mother and her wife to feel affirmed in their perspective … that my father does not matter, that he doesn’t need to take a presence in my life”—that having two moms could eliminate the need for a dad… “So at the end of the day, I’m left feeling there’s a big disconnect between what matters and what is actually celebrated, and the distortion of the birth certificate enabled this to happen.”
In summary? A child’s birth certificate is not a second marriage license. It doesn’t exist to validate adult emotion, desire or intentions. Birth certificates exist for children. And the State should prioritize their rights.
If you want to become a children’s rights expert, check out the new book Them Before Us: Why we need a global children’s rights movement. It will arm you with child-centric responses on topics ranging from marriage, divorce, reproductive technologies, cohabitation, polygamy, surrogacy, adoption and same-sex parenting. Become the adult who should have advocated for you as a child.
Well done and keep up the good fight!
Did the children you quote (actually adults now) actually give you permission to quote them in your amicus brief?
The quoted testimony was either publicly available or submitted explicitly for use in the brief.
I am completely in support of this particular movement for children’s rights. My concern is how do we separate a movement for children’s rights in regards to marriage, divorce, reproductive technologies, etc. and yet ask the courts to at the same time strongly support parental rights when it comes to making health decisions for our children (i.e. the push for government to vaccinate children without parental consent.) I feel we must be careful to be strong advocates for children’s rights in the areas you are advocating for, but how do we make sure that in the areas where parental rights are needed to be supported we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot accidentally? Perhaps I’m worried about nothing here? Yet I know how carefully these issues must be considered as we ask the courts to rule on children’s rights. It can’t be a blanketed children’s rights movement without carefully delineating where children’s rights and parental rights come together. Your thoughts? 🙂