A federal judge Thursday ordered the state to include the names of both mothers on the birth certificate of a child born to a lesbian couple.
Indiana birth certificates list only the mother and the father.
Eight lesbian couples sued, seeking the right to include both mothers: the birth mother and her partner. They argue that the state's current system sometimes denies them the right to give the child both last names and denies parents – and the children – certain rights and access to benefits.
The state had argued same-sex partners should go through the adoption process. But the couples noted that was both lengthy and expensive. Federal judge Tanya Walton Pratt agrees.
Pratt says denying both same-sex spouses the right to be on a birth certificate leaves the child in what she calls the "vulnerable position" of having only one legal parent.
In a statement, the Attorney General's office says it hasn't decided whether to appeal.