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Lawsuit by same-sex couples says Florida refused to name both parents on birth certificates

 
Debbie Chin bumps foreheads with 6-month-old Amzi Chin on the floor at their house in St. Petersburg on Thursday, Aug. 13. Debbie Chin and her spouse Kari are fighting to have their names put on the birth certificate of Amzi.[SCOTTY SCHENCK | Times]
Debbie Chin bumps foreheads with 6-month-old Amzi Chin on the floor at their house in St. Petersburg on Thursday, Aug. 13. Debbie Chin and her spouse Kari are fighting to have their names put on the birth certificate of Amzi.[SCOTTY SCHENCK | Times]
Published Aug. 14, 2015

Kari Chin's heart sank the first time she saw her son's birth certificate.

She was named as the boy's mother. But her wife, Debbie, was not listed as a parent, even though Florida had begun allowing same-sex marriages two months earlier.

"A birth certificate is more than just a piece of paper," said Chin, a school social worker who lives in St. Petersburg. "It's the first thing you see upon your child's birth. For it to only have one name didn't reflect the truth."

The pair decided to take action.

The Chins are one of three married couples suing the state for not acknowledging both same-sex spouses on their baby's birth certificate. Their joint lawsuit, filed in federal court Thursday in Tallahassee, says Florida violated the couples' constitutional right to equal protection by denying them the "privacy, dignity, security, support and protections that are provided to married opposite-sex couples and their children."

The defendants, Florida Secretary of Health and Surgeon General John Armstrong and Registrar Ken Jones, declined to comment on the case. But the department filed a motion Thursday seeking clarification on how the ruling that legalized same sex marriage in Florida applies to birth certificates.

Kari and Debbie Chin met more than 15 years ago as undergraduates at the University of Florida. They had a commitment ceremony in 2001, but didn't come out to friends and family until 2009.

"One of the reasons we came out was because of our desire to have a family," said Debbie.

Four years later, Debbie carried and gave birth to a daughter named Eliada. Although she was the only parent listed on the birth certificate, neither she nor Kari tried to fight it.

"I just knew there wasn't even a shot," Kari recalled.

Kari conceived the couple's second child through donor insemination in 2014. Circumstances had changed since the birth of their first child; the women had married in Boston, and several circuit court judges had struck down the gay-marriage ban in Florida.

Kari called the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics a half-dozen times before her delivery date, asking if both she and Debbie could be included on the birth certificate. Each time, she was told Florida's birth certificate procedure had not yet been changed.

"I had hope that there would be some sort of legal intervention because of the (marriage equality) ruling," she said.

Florida officially began allowing same-sex marriages on Jan. 5. But when Kari gave birth to a baby boy named Amzi nearly two months later, she was listed as the sole parent on the birth certificate.

Recalled Debbie: "To be left off the birth certificate was a slap in the face."

The Chins' attorneys at the California-based National Center for Lesbian Rights say Florida law is clear about who should be named on the birth certificate.

"There is law establishing that a spouse (of the birth mother) is the parent of a child," the center's family law director Cathy Sakimura said, noting that the provision applies to all couples, gay or straight.

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It also applies to parents who use assisted reproduction, Sakimura added.

"It doesn't matter how you conceive," she said.

But Mary Greenwood, a family law attorney in Brandon who specializes in adoption and surrogacy, said the case may not be that easy. Greenwood pointed out that the statute says the "husband (of the birth mother) shall be entered on the birth certificate as the father of the child."

"The question for these cases is going to be, as we have marriage equality, are we automatically going to read the word 'husband' or 'wife' to mean spouse?" she said.

Nadine Smith, the CEO of the St. Petersburg-based advocacy group Equality Florida, said most states had already changed their birth certificate policies after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all gay marriage bans in June.

"Florida has known for almost a year that they would have to come into compliance with the law," said Smith, whose organization was deeply involved in the marriage equality battle and is also a plaintiff in the birth certificate case. "Unfortunately, they have refused and dragged their feet, so we have to go back to court."

Smith said she would like to see Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi compel the state Department of Health to change its rule regarding birth certificates. But a spokesman for Bondi said the office does not have the authority to do so.

The Chins hope the issue gets resolved quickly. They'd like to have at least two more children.

Like most weekday evenings, Thursday was busy in the family's St. Petersburg home. Debbie made dinner and played with 2-year-old Eliada, while Kari got 6-month-old Amzi ready for bed.

"We're both the parents," Debbie said. "I don't know why (the birth certificates) don't reflect that."

Contact Kathleen McGrory at kmcgrory@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8330. Follow @kmcgrory.