Connecticut men win birth-certificate case
The Connecticut Supreme Court on Jan. 5 forced the state Department of Public Health to list a gay male couple as parents on the birth certificates of their twin boys who were delivered by a gestational surrogate.
Shawn and Anthony Raftopol will receive corrected birth certificates for their kids.
"As a couple, we chose to create a family," said Anthony Raftopol. "We assumed the responsibility for bringing them into the world, with the understanding that we would love, support and nurture them in every way. In other words, to be what parents are supposed to be."
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders Senior Staff Attorney Karen Loewy said the state Supreme Court's "historic decision honors the intentions of everyone involved in bringing these children into the world, and provides those children with the protection of having two legal parents from the moment of their birth."
"This ruling has special significance for same-sex couples using assisted reproductive technologies like gestational surrogacy, because there will always be one intended parent who is not a genetic parent. It is now clear that Connecticut law honors and protects those intended families," she said.
