BOSTON (BP)–As nature attests, it takes a mommy and daddy to make a baby. But if homosexuals activists in Massachusetts get their way, that soon may change — at least on paper.
With “gay marriage” now legalized there, homosexuals in the Bay State want birth certificates to change as well. Gone would be the time-tested spaces for “Mother” and “Father.” Instead, the certificates would say simply “Parent A” and “Parent B.”
The re-tooled birth certificates would be used in such instances when two homosexual men have a child through a hired surrogate mother or when two lesbians have a child through the use of sperm donation. In both instances, the certificates would reflect the legal realities, homosexual activists say.
But conservatives — including the governor — are staunchly opposed to any change.
“[E]ach child has a mother and a father,” Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, told FOX News. “They should have the right to have that mother and father known to them and that’s something I’d like to preserve on a birth certificate.”
As somewhat of a compromise, Romney and his administration have advised hospitals simply to cross out the words “mother” or “father” and write in the phrase “second parent.” Romney, who opposes “gay marriage” and favors a state constitutional marriage amendment, has the support of conservative groups.
“[I]t takes a mother and a father to bring a child into the world,” Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, told Baptist Press. “Even if it’s from a petri dish, the sperm and the egg originated with a mother and a father. There’s a yearning in every child to know who his biological parents are.”
The birth certificate controversy, Mineau said, is another example of the fallout from “gay marriage” legalization. It became legal following a ruling by the state’s highest court.
“In this sheer madness of homosexual marriage, these are the issues that we’re facing,” Mineau said. “It’s rendering confusion at all levels of society.”
Homosexual activists, though, say current birth certificates are incomplete in light of current law.
“There should be no doubt in Massachusetts that Massachusetts records should accurately reflect the true nature of Massachusetts families, and that includes same-sex married couples,” Michele Granda, an attorney for Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, told FOX News.
Attorneys differ as to whether “scratched out” birth certificates will raise legal questions in years to come. Romney’s lawyer says the certificates are fine; some town clerks, though, say they could cause problems in the future when applying for passports and other documents, The Boston Globe reported. Romney’s administration says the legislature is responsible for permanently changing birth certificates.
Conservatives assert a permanent change in birth certificates would have far-reaching consequences — particularly in the way society views homosexuality.
“It’s just another agenda to normalize their lifestyle as being normative, acceptable [and] to be applauded,” Mineau said.
The push to change birth certificates, Mineau said, reflects a selfishness on the part of adults who are more concerned with “titles” than they are with what “it costs a child.”
“Children, really, are more trophies in this cultural war than they are genuinely the result of two people in a loving relationship,” he said.
Massachusetts is not the only state to face a birth certificate controversy. Other states, such as Tennessee, have debated whether to allow “transsexuals” — those who undergo sex-change operations — to change their sex on their birth certificate. A bill that would do that was introduced in the Tennessee legislature this year but failed to receive a floor vote in either chamber.
–30–
For more information about the national debate over “gay marriage,” visit http://www.bpnews.net/samesexmarriage
