When their son was born 1½ years ago, Jessamy and Chelsea Torres shared the joy of being first-time parents. But the state of Wisconsin would recognize only one mother.
The women married in 2012 and had a baby two years later after Chelsea Torres was artificially inseminated. The parents expected that both of their names would appear on their son's birth certificate. They didn't.
But this week, a federal judge ruled that they should, siding with the couple in their lawsuit against the state of Wisconsin. In her order, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb advised the state to "provide the equal treatment that same-sex couples are entitled to receive under the law."
"It's been a long road waiting for this," Jessamy Torres said after the couple's victory.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage last year, couples around the country have filed lawsuits to get their names placed on their children's birth certificates.
"It's frustrating for couples with children who really are looking for a certificate that protects them in situations where they could be at risk … in emergency situations, registering in schools," said Christopher Clark, attorney with Lambda Legal, a national organization dedicated to achieving civil rights for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV. Lambda was part of the legal team that filed the lawsuit against Wisconsin.
"What can be frustrating is that there was a victory in the United States Supreme Court that established the freedom to marry for same-sex couples across the country. But the devil is in the details sometimes," Clark said. "We're still seeing problems in making that legal change a reality for couples."
In Minnesota, birth and death certificates use the word "parent." Although the official public document is gender neutral, the application forms still request the mother's and father's names. Those, too, eventually will be changed to use the more gender-neutral "parent," said Molly Mulcahy Crawford, state registrar in the Office of Vital Records at the Minnesota Department of Health.