Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Indiana Suit Over Lesbian Couples On Birth Certificates

Indiana lesbian couples will be able to include both people’s names on their children’s birth certificates after a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court Monday.

The Court decided not to hear a lawsuit over the issue that began in 2016.

Indiana birth certificates list only the names of the mother and father. Eight lesbian couples sued, seeking the right to include both the birth mother and her partner. The couples said denying them their place on the birth certificate cost them rights and benefits. And while the state argued lesbian couples should go through the adoption process, the couples said that was both lengthy and costly.

Both a federal district court and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the lesbian couples. But Republican Attorney General Curtis Hill took the case up to the U.S. Supreme Court.

He argued that Indiana was following “basic biology” in only including birth mother and father on a birth certificate.

But the Supreme Court refused to hear the case, leaving in place the appellate court decision, which repudiated Hill’s position.

Contact reporter Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.