The High Court of Justice in Israel has ruled that both women in a lesbian couple can be listed as birth mothers on their child’s birth certificate. The reasoning was that, in practice, both women are equal partners in raising and caring for their child, regardless of who physically gave birth to the baby.

The ruling is specifically for lesbian couples who conceive through an anonymous sperm donor and will take effect right away. It was a response to nine couples who petitioned for the change, citing that the listing of both partners in a same-sex couple is common practice in many other areas of the world. In the United States, for example, this has been the practice in the majority of states for almost a decade.

Population Authority brought a challenge to the case, saying that birth certificates should only reflect the biological parentage of a child and nothing else. However, that challenge was rejected and the adding of both women in a lesbian couple as “mother” on the birth certificate will go forward. One reason that Population Authority wanted the biological parents listed was for rights and responsibilities, but also for genetic risks and related issues.

If a child is looking for their biological father, for example, they aren’t going to find them through their birth certificate. In the case of anonymous sperm donation, they aren’t going to find them through the agency that provided the reproductive assistance, either. This is a worthwhile point from a medical standpoint, but the High Court’s decision is concerned with who is considered the legal parents of the child and, in a lesbian couple with an anonymous sperm donation, the legal parents are the two women who have joined their lives together and are raising the child.

The Court states that both parents are integral in raising that child, and they both have equal say in that raising. Therefore, there’s no reason for distinction on the birth certificate as to which one is the biological mother of the child and which one is not.

International clients are integral to The Surrogacy Law Center and we pride ourselves on the level of service we are able to provide them.

Examples of our world-class customer service include:

• Providing translations of standard surrogacy and egg donor contracts in French, Spanish, Italian and Mandarin
• Employing multilingual staff in French, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese and Portuguese
• Ensuring high-quality interpreters are able to assist during telephone reviews of contracts and parental establishment documents when needed
• Assisting with the process of obtaining apostilles of birth certificates and/or parentage orders, as necessary
• Working closely with attorneys retained by clients in their home countries to help ensure a seamless transition home.

Contact us today to learn more!