Arkansas to issue birth certificates for same-sex parents

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Arkansas Health Department says it will begin issuing birth certificates listing both spouses in married same-sex couples as the parents after the state lost a case before the U.S. Supreme Court this week.

The department said Wednesday it’ll begin issuing birth certificates for same-sex couples who used artificial insemination and were married at the time of the birth of their child. The department said amended birth certificates will only be issued in cases where the birth mother is listed on the certificate and no one is listed as the father.

The announcement comes two days after the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a state ruling that married lesbian couples must get a court order to have both spouses listed on their children’s birth certificates.