THE HIGH COURT will rule this morning in a landmark case which could pave the way for couples who need to use the services of a surrogate mother to still both be recognised on their child’s birth certificate.
Justice Henry Abbott will rule this morning in the case of M R versus the Registrar General, in which a couple who used a surrogate to carry their twins to birth argue that their rights to be identified as their children’s parents are being denied.
The State has insisted that only the woman who gives birth to a child can be recognised on its birth certificate as its mother.
The outcome has major implications for the family, as the mother recognised on a birth certificate is legally viewed as a child’s mother – and is therefore given legal standing in matters including inheritance, while the genetic mother would be given no legal recognition.
In this case the woman who gave birth to the children is the sister of their genetic mother – and both consent to having the genetic mother recognised on the children’s birth certificate.
However, the ruling may need to take into account the possibility of other circumstances arising in the future, where the genetic and birth mothers could both seek inclusion in the birth certificate.
The couple has argued that the State-endorsed practice where DNA tests are used to establish parenthood is in conflict with its stance on registrations, as a DNA test would establish that the genetic mother was not the woman who gave birth to the child.
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