South Carolina to allow same-sex parents to be listed on birth certificates
South Carolina is set to begin letting same-sex parents list both names on birth certificates after a couple sued the state over the issue.
A judge ruled on Wednesday that both parents, Casy and Jacqueline Carson, should have their names both listed on their twins’ birth certificates.
Federal Judge Mary Geiger Lewis issued the ruling in the case brought by the Greenville couple.
The couple married some years ago in Washington DC, but had been told they couldn’t have both names on the birth certificates of their twins.
Jacqueline Carson’s name was listed on the birth certificates, but instead of Casy, the state listed “no father listed”.
This was despite it being common practice for a non-biological opposite-sex parent to be allowed to appear on birth certificates.
Now that the judge has made its ruling in the lawsuit against the Health and Environmental Control Director Catherine Heigel, the policy by the state is set to change.
Heigel did not challenge the argument that the couple’s constitutional rights were violated by the policy.
Both the plaintiffs and the state mutually agreed to enter into a consent degree to decide together how the change in birth certificate policy will be implemented.
