Same-sex couple wins lawsuit over birth certificate

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that Wisconsin must put the names of many same-sex parents on their children’s birth certificates.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb granted judgment in favor of a Madison couple. Chelsea and Jessamy Torres filed the discrimination lawsuit last year because the state failed to put both their names on their baby’s birth certificate.

The couple argued that the state’s practice of listing opposite-sex parents on birth certificates, but not same-sex parents, is discriminatory. Chelsea Torres gave birth to the couple’s son, Asher, in March 2015 after undergoing artificial insemination.

Kyle Palazzolo, an attorney with Lamda Legal, which represented the couple, says many same-sex parents “can breathe a sigh of relief” because of the judge’s ruling.