Post by Admin on Sept 22, 2007 8:30:57 GMT -5
Mom and mom now allowed on N.S. birth registration
Nova Scotia changes birth registration process as it faces human-rights challenge
Last Updated: Thursday, September 20, 2007 | 4:30 PM AT
CBC News
Same-sex couples in Nova Scotia now have the same rights as heterosexual couples when it comes to registering the births of their children.
The move comes several days after a married lesbian couple filed a complaint with the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, saying the Vital Statistics Act was discriminatory.
"The fact that it happened so quickly, we were all pretty shocked," Jamie O'Neill told reporters Thursday, hours after the announcement.
Jamie and her spouse, Emily, had a daughter in August.
But only Emily, the birth mother, was allowed to put her name on Jordyn's birth registration. Jamie was told she would have to formally adopt Jordyn to be recognized as her parent.
The new regulations, approved by cabinet Thursday, allow the same-sex partner or spouse of the birth mother to be registered as the other parent.
Service Nova Scotia Minister Jamie Muir said the changes comply with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and ensure same-sex couples are treated as everyone else.
"The province wants to do the right thing and we did the right thing," he told reporters.
Muir said the O'Neill case did not prompt the move. The province had been working on the matter for some time and only found out last week it could solve the issue by changing the regulations, he said.
"If nothing else, we had court decisions in other parts of the country that said things had to change," said Muir.
The new regulations are effective immediately, but it will be some time before the provincial birth forms are changed. Muir said he expects the new documents will likely include areas for "mother" and "father/other parent."
For now, a lesbian couple who registers a birth can probably cross out the word "father," the minister said.
Nova Scotia changes birth registration process as it faces human-rights challenge
Last Updated: Thursday, September 20, 2007 | 4:30 PM AT
CBC News
Same-sex couples in Nova Scotia now have the same rights as heterosexual couples when it comes to registering the births of their children.
The move comes several days after a married lesbian couple filed a complaint with the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, saying the Vital Statistics Act was discriminatory.
"The fact that it happened so quickly, we were all pretty shocked," Jamie O'Neill told reporters Thursday, hours after the announcement.
Jamie and her spouse, Emily, had a daughter in August.
But only Emily, the birth mother, was allowed to put her name on Jordyn's birth registration. Jamie was told she would have to formally adopt Jordyn to be recognized as her parent.
The new regulations, approved by cabinet Thursday, allow the same-sex partner or spouse of the birth mother to be registered as the other parent.
Service Nova Scotia Minister Jamie Muir said the changes comply with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and ensure same-sex couples are treated as everyone else.
"The province wants to do the right thing and we did the right thing," he told reporters.
Muir said the O'Neill case did not prompt the move. The province had been working on the matter for some time and only found out last week it could solve the issue by changing the regulations, he said.
"If nothing else, we had court decisions in other parts of the country that said things had to change," said Muir.
The new regulations are effective immediately, but it will be some time before the provincial birth forms are changed. Muir said he expects the new documents will likely include areas for "mother" and "father/other parent."
For now, a lesbian couple who registers a birth can probably cross out the word "father," the minister said.