PITA Birth Records
Jun. 11th, 2007 02:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
judecorp(x-posted to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
july2007babies, sorry if you see it twice)
Oh, what a huge PITA.
So today Jen and I got a stack of papers we were supposed to get two months ago with a bunch of papers we'll need to bring to our birth center. You know, like releases and stuff. Well, one of them is a "birth certificate worksheet" and there's a whole bunch of info on "Mother of the Child" and then a whole bunch of info on "Father of the Child." Then on another sheet of paper there was a phone number and "Call Michelle with questions," so I did. Hello, Michelle.
Jen and I were a little baffled because a) we are not putting any "Father of the Child" information on our birth certificate, but b) Jen and I are married and therefore she is also legally responsible for our kid.
According to Michelle, what WE are supposed to do with our birth certificate information is this:
1. I am supposed to cross out everything that says "Father" and write in "Second Parent." (How professional.) And make sure that I check the box that says I am married.
2. When the kid is born, the birth center - instead of just sending the forms to the Town Clerk for immediate processing - has to fax my crossed-out document to the Records Department in Boston so they can check it over.
3. Then, our paperwork has to GO TO COURT in Boston so that a judge can "decide what to do with it." It is up to the judge whether they put the second parent information on or not.
"Michelle, what does the judge usually do?" Apparently the judge USUALLY puts the second parent on the birth certificate.
USUALLY? Like, sometimes the judge can just decide NOT to? Oh holy hell, Michelle, you say all of this with such a chipper voice and I just want to strangle you with my telephone cord.
july2007babies, sorry if you see it twice)Oh, what a huge PITA.
So today Jen and I got a stack of papers we were supposed to get two months ago with a bunch of papers we'll need to bring to our birth center. You know, like releases and stuff. Well, one of them is a "birth certificate worksheet" and there's a whole bunch of info on "Mother of the Child" and then a whole bunch of info on "Father of the Child." Then on another sheet of paper there was a phone number and "Call Michelle with questions," so I did. Hello, Michelle.
Jen and I were a little baffled because a) we are not putting any "Father of the Child" information on our birth certificate, but b) Jen and I are married and therefore she is also legally responsible for our kid.
According to Michelle, what WE are supposed to do with our birth certificate information is this:
1. I am supposed to cross out everything that says "Father" and write in "Second Parent." (How professional.) And make sure that I check the box that says I am married.
2. When the kid is born, the birth center - instead of just sending the forms to the Town Clerk for immediate processing - has to fax my crossed-out document to the Records Department in Boston so they can check it over.
3. Then, our paperwork has to GO TO COURT in Boston so that a judge can "decide what to do with it." It is up to the judge whether they put the second parent information on or not.
"Michelle, what does the judge usually do?" Apparently the judge USUALLY puts the second parent on the birth certificate.
USUALLY? Like, sometimes the judge can just decide NOT to? Oh holy hell, Michelle, you say all of this with such a chipper voice and I just want to strangle you with my telephone cord.
Birth certificates
Date: 2007-06-19 12:31 pm (UTC)I live in Australia and believe me, you *really* shouldn't be whingeing. I would love it if we got to have both our names on our baby's birth certificate just by crossing out a few labels and having it sent to a judge but it's illegal. Get that, illegal. Only one woman and one male (or no male) allowed. And second-parent adoption? Doesn't exist. My partner will have absolutely no legal relationship to our child. And forget same-sex marriage - it's happening in Uruguay but in Australia? Forget it.
Please forgive this little outburst of bitterness, but do please reflect that you are really bloody lucky, you know.
Re: Birth certificates
Date: 2007-06-22 12:56 pm (UTC)And while having a crossed out (invalid) birth certificate is at least MARGINALLY gratifying and validating, it's not enough. Here in the state of Massachusetts, the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples were Constitutionally required to have the same rights and privileges as opposite-sex couples. So this should be a non-issue here, but it's not. I'm not diminishing the injustice of your situation by arguing the injustice of ours as well, especially in a state that claims to "know better."