Supreme Court Orders States to List Same-Sex Parents on Birth Certificates; Gorsuch + 2 other Supremes Dissent
Christian Post and Reuters reports:
The United States Supreme Court has reversed a lower court that upheld an Arkansas law that treated same-sex and opposite-sex married couples differently regarding the issuing of birth certificates.
Known as Pavan v. Smith, the case was centered on a state law that automatically listed an opposite sex spouse on a birth certificate even if they were not the biological parent. This was not done for same-sex couples.
In an unsigned order issued Monday, the high court ruled that the Arkansas law unjustly treated same-sex couples differently.
"... same-sex parents in Arkansas lack the same right as opposite-sex parents to be listed on a child's birth certificate, a document often used for important transactions like making medical decisions for a child or enrolling a child in school," read the opinion..............
Justice Neil Gorsuch authored a dissenting opinion to the order and was joined by Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas.
In his dissent, Gorsuch argued that the Supreme Court erred because the birth certificate law served the purpose of tracking the biological origins of a person.
"Before the state supreme court, the State argued that rational reasons exist for a biology based birth registration regime, reasons that in no way offend Obergefell - like ensuring government officials can identify public health trends and helping individuals determine their biological lineage, citizenship, or susceptibility to genetic disorders," wrote Gorsuch.
"And it is very hard to see what is wrong with this conclusion for, just as the state court recognized, nothing in Obergefell indicates that a birth registration regime based on biology, one no doubt with many analogues across the country and throughout history, offends the Constitution."