The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that the state Health Department has to amend its birth certificate forms to be more inclusive to same-sex parents.
In Arizona, when a child is born, birth certificate forms have two options: mother and father or parent and parent, the latter added after same-sex marriage became legal in the state.
But being referred to as a parent wasn’t enough for Suzan Swanson and her ex-wife Kimberly McLaughlin. Both wanted to be designated as mother, especially McLaughlin who wanted recognition as the biological mother.
The suit stemmed from a custody battle when the two women divorced and McLaughlin argued her ex-wife was not a parent as defined in state law. However, she lost that case in the U.S. Supreme Court.
A three-judge panel unanimously agreed that both women are entitled to be considered the child’s mother and birth certificate forms must be changed to reflect that.
