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Six years after the passage of a law affirming the rights of same-sex mothers, two women in Ireland have become the first to be legally recognized as the parents of their children from birth.
Geraldine Rea and Niamh O'Sullivan welcomed their daughters Réidín and Aoibhín O'Sullivan Rea 7 weeks ago, according to The Irish Times. Both moms’ names appear on the babies’ birth certificates as parents.
Such recognition has been a long time coming. Ireland adopted the Child and Family Relationships Act in 2015, but the final provisions didn’t go into effect until 2020. Prior to that, same-sex parents in Ireland were required to go through a complicated legal process to gain legal recognition for both parents. The new law now permits the automatic recognition of same-sex spouses, civil partners, and cohabitants, just as it would for different-sex partners.
The new parents hailed the milestone as a huge burden lifted at an extremely busy time. "Why would I have to go to court?” O'Sullivan told Ireland’s RTÉ News. “It's just much easier that I don't now have to go to court and prove myself to be their other parent — I just am!"
“The route to parenthood for same-sex couples is already more difficult,” Rea added, “so taking out the court proceedings for the birth certs just makes it that little bit easier for us and for everyone else to come.”
Civil rights groups stressed the tremendous significance of legal recognition. "It's hugely important for children to have a legal relationship from birth with their parents [...] who care for them and love them on a daily basis” Paula Fagan, chief executive of LGBT Ireland, told RTÉ News.
Read more here. (Them)
Geraldine Rea and Niamh O'Sullivan welcomed their daughters Réidín and Aoibhín O'Sullivan Rea 7 weeks ago, according to The Irish Times. Both moms’ names appear on the babies’ birth certificates as parents.
Such recognition has been a long time coming. Ireland adopted the Child and Family Relationships Act in 2015, but the final provisions didn’t go into effect until 2020. Prior to that, same-sex parents in Ireland were required to go through a complicated legal process to gain legal recognition for both parents. The new law now permits the automatic recognition of same-sex spouses, civil partners, and cohabitants, just as it would for different-sex partners.
The new parents hailed the milestone as a huge burden lifted at an extremely busy time. "Why would I have to go to court?” O'Sullivan told Ireland’s RTÉ News. “It's just much easier that I don't now have to go to court and prove myself to be their other parent — I just am!"
“The route to parenthood for same-sex couples is already more difficult,” Rea added, “so taking out the court proceedings for the birth certs just makes it that little bit easier for us and for everyone else to come.”
Civil rights groups stressed the tremendous significance of legal recognition. "It's hugely important for children to have a legal relationship from birth with their parents [...] who care for them and love them on a daily basis” Paula Fagan, chief executive of LGBT Ireland, told RTÉ News.
Read more here. (Them)
