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Kansas: No Court Order Needed For Same-Sex Birth Certificate

Cary and Kacey Jordan, flickr Creative Commons

Same-sex couples in Kansas who conceive through artificial insemination will have an easier time obtaining birth certificates for their children.

From the AP:  

Kansas officials say no court order will be needed in the future to process birth certificate applications of children from same-sex couples who conceive by artificial insemination.

That assurance came in a court filing Monday in a federal lawsuit that challenges the Kansas ban on same-sex marriages. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling already cleared the way for such marriages in Kansas, but the judge wanted evidence the state was complying with that decision.

Kansas also objected to the American Civil Liberties Union even raising the birth certificate issue because none of the plaintiffs in the federal gay marriage case are seeking to become parents.

The state says nothing has been offered in this or other lawsuits to show paternity laws that recognize biological differences between men and women are unconstitutional.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.