Massachusetts is ready to remove the words “mother” and “father” from birth certificates. Instead, the form will call the mother the “person who gave birth” and the father the “other parent.”
This is from a bill just passed by the Senate called the “Act to ensure legal parentage equality.” It passed the House in June so it will become law if Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signs it.
The bill replaces all references to paternity on a birth certificate with the word parentage and ensures parental rights “without regard to the marital status, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation of their parents or the circumstances of their birth.”
It also replaces the form item for a “child born out of wedlock” with the term “non-marital child.” The form also allows for the birth certificate to name the surrogate parents and donors.
