Petition Started to Allow Same Sex Couples Equal Rights on their Children’s Birth Certificates

Spire Radio listener, Becky Louise Parkin contacted us this week to highlight an inequality in the law over the rights of same sex couples to have both of their names on their children’s birth certificates.

Currently, UK law only allows same sex couples to have both of their names on the birth certificates of their children if the couple are married or in a civil partnership, or the child was conceived in a clinic. This leaves thousands of couples, like Becky and her partner Jade Margetts, who aren’t married or in a civil partnership, forced to pay costs for up to £10,000 to conceive their child in a clinic.

Becky and Jade found this out when researching further into the rules when having children, when we spoke with Becky today, she said “Not getting married to have equal rights over children is a common decision for most parents.

“Most people assume gay and straight relationships have the same rule.

“We just want people to be aware of the issue and make their own minds up, if it doesn’t affect you, you don’t know”

We put Becky and Jade’s case to the offices of Toby Perkins MP and Lee Rowley MP, representing Chesterfield and North East Derbyshire respectively, unfortunately both declined to comment, both blaming COVID related workloads.

Jade launched a petition on the Parliament website which can be viewed and signed here – https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/559802.