A state law had allowed only "the name of the husband" to appear on a child's birth certificate.IOWA CITY, Iowa — The Iowa Supreme Court says the state health department must list the names of both spouses in a same-sex relationship on a child's birth certificate.
The court ruled Friday that the department must include the name of the non-birthing spouse in a lesbian marriage as a legal parent to any child born during the union.
Justices say that a state law that allowed only the "name of the husband" to appear on the birth certificate violates the equal protection clause in the Iowa Constitution.
The ruling is a victory for Heather and Melissa Gartner of Des Moines, who sued after the department listed only Heather as a parent of their daughter in 2009.
The couple married after the Iowa Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in 2009.