25 signatures reached
To: The government
Make married and unmarried fathers equal.
Change the registration laws to allow unmarried and married fathers to be treated as equal
Why is this important?
In June 2014 my boyfriend whom I lived with for over four years, died very suddenly. At the time I was 35 weeks pregnant with our son. Our son was conceived as a result of IVF and both of us were looking forward to becoming parents. Because our son was born after his dad died I could not register his father on the birth certificate. So whilst coping with loss and grief as well as adjusting to being a new mum, I had to go to court to get a declaration of parentage order. I was told that because we were not married parentage could not be assumed - despite presenting the registrar with proof from the IVF clinic
My late partner's family and friends were very supportive and along with letters of support from them as well as a sworn statement from me that we had been in a monogamous relationship, a judge agreed to allow my son to have his father's name on his birth certificate.
It is grossly unfair and unjust that an unmarried father is still treated as a virtual stranger to his own child. I should not have had to go through court for this! The registration laws are out of date and do not reflect modern demographics.
My late partner's family and friends were very supportive and along with letters of support from them as well as a sworn statement from me that we had been in a monogamous relationship, a judge agreed to allow my son to have his father's name on his birth certificate.
It is grossly unfair and unjust that an unmarried father is still treated as a virtual stranger to his own child. I should not have had to go through court for this! The registration laws are out of date and do not reflect modern demographics.
