Iowa same-sex couple sues after death certificate omits one parent

Feb 09, 2012 16:20


A same-sex couple has filed suit against state health officials, arguing they wiped out one of the names of a parent on a death certificate for their child.

TW: Child Death )

excuze me wtf r u doin, iowa, lgbtq / gender & sexual minorities

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milleniumrex February 9 2012, 22:50:32 UTC
Doesn't Iowa have gay marriage? Of all the states to pull this asshattery, they wouldn't have been on my list.

The only thing I can think of is that because the child wasn't Jenny's biological child, she might have had to legally adopt him, and she never got the chance. But jeez, Iowa. Show some compassion. I mean, that's probably asking too much of a bureaucracy, I know. :/

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nekomika February 9 2012, 22:54:06 UTC
Yeah, we do have gay marriage and gay adoption and gay parental rights.

That's why this case makes no sense. I'm hoping someone just screwed up big time and it's fixed quickly but idk, I don't trust my state.

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missmurchison February 10 2012, 00:20:47 UTC
It's not just one person screwing up. The same thing is true for birth certificates. A lower court ruled that the non-biological parent does not have to adopt the child if she is married to the biological mother, just as a husband would not have to adopt if his wife conceived through artificial insemination. But the state is appealing the decision.

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13chapters February 9 2012, 22:54:48 UTC
Iowa has gay marriage, but not because people there are so queer-friendly. It was a court ruling. Apparently only 44% of the population of Iowa actually supports gay marriage. (I read that just today!)

I think we can make a good guess on which side of the issue the person who issued the death certificate is.

Anyway, disgusting. Definitely not going to read the comments.

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brookiki February 9 2012, 23:14:35 UTC
But jeez, Iowa. Show some compassion

Yeah, that's my take. Two people are grieving over a lost child. Can't someone spare just enough compassion to not add to their pain? Because, honestly, unless they're very, very lucky in the people they encounter on a day to day basis, people are going to regularly add to their pain with helpful platitudes like "Well, sometimes these things are just for the best."

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missmurchison February 10 2012, 00:18:19 UTC
This is my local paper and after I saw that article yesterday I did some research. Iowa law states that a biological mother's spouse is the presumptive father of a child. This is true even if it is impossible for the husband to be the biological child. (I think there was a case where the husband had been in the military and out of the country during the time when the baby could have been conceived.) So there's no basis for this other than the fact that regulations refer to the "father" and "husband." Oh, and "administrative burden," because changing a couple of words on a form is incredibly difficult in the computer age ( ... )

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