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Lesbian partners in Britain to be named on birth certificates
British lesbian couples who have children through fertility treatment can now register both their names on the birth certificate, following a change in the law.
The change, which applies to couples in England and Wales beginning fertility treatment on or after April 6, 2009, confers legal parenthood on a biological mother's female partner for the first time.
The Human Fertilization and Embryology Act 2008 granted lesbian couples equal rights as parents. The new regulations on the registration of births and deaths came into force today, although no child covered by the change will have been born yet.
Lord Brett, the Home Office minister, said: "This positive change means that, for the first time, female couples who have a child using fertility treatment have the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts to be shown as parents in the birth registration. It is vital that we afford equality wherever we can in society, especially as family circumstances continue to change. This is an important step forward in that process."