Supreme Court of Arkansas Says Non-Bio Lesbian Moms Can’t Be Listed on Birth Certificates

On Thursday, the Supreme Court of Arkansas ruled that the state can refuse to allow non-bio lesbian mothers to be listed on their children’s birth certificates.

The case was brought to Arkansas’ Supreme Court by three lesbian couples and moms who argued that being denied the ability to list both parents on birth certificates violated their constitutional rights to due process and equal protection.

The court stated that the Department of Health’s birth certificate form, which only lists “mother” and “father,” is not in conflict with Obergefell v. Hodges , the marriage equality ruling.

Justice Josephine Hart said that the marriage equality ruling of the Supreme Court only mentioned birth certificates in passing. She added: “Obergefell did not address Arkansas’s statutory framework regarding birth certificates, either expressly or impliedly.”

Only one justice was completely opposed to the ruling — Justice Paul Danielson. “Obergefell requires that this benefit be accorded to same-sex spouses and opposite-sex spouses with equal force,” Danielson wrote.

If these couples decide to appeal the decision, the next step would be to take it to the Supreme Court.