The story of Sarah Osborne (48) and his companion Elena Arnold (43) is cruel and curious at the same time. In 2014, the women decided to have a child through in vitro fertilization. Everything was rosy for both of them, until, from the registry office of cambridge, United Kingdom, convicted: “There can be only one mother for the law.” It was Helen Arnold who carried her pregnancy forward.
After being denied the right to appear as a mother on the birth certificate, Osborne was forced to adopt her son. Subsequently, the UK High Court overturned the adoption and canceled the original birth certificate.
After the dispute, the court ruled that Sarah should be recognized as a parent. On the other hand, Cambridge County Council said it was aware of the consequences of the events. Osborne told the BBC she was “happy and eager to be registered as a mother”.
a gigantic love
In 2010 the love between Sarah Osborne and Helen Arnold was born. The couple met in a bar on the outskirts of Cambridge, UK. A short time later they started a love story that grew by the day.
Two years after starting their courtship, Sarah and Helen decided to move in together and give their relationship a more formal tone. They were very much in love and wanted to start a family. In 2014 the women decided to have a child and opted for in vitro fertilization to be mothers. This gigantic act of love would have brought them an equally big headache.
At the time of giving birth in 2014, UK law was clear about same-sex couples choosing to have a child through IVF. If both have given their consent, to be considered parents, they should appear on the child’s birth certificate.
two mothers
The nightmare began when Osborne and Helen went to register their child’s birth at the Cambridge office. At the district, the couple were informed that they could only have a legal mother and that Sarah would not be included on the birth certificate.
The Civil Registry was told that unless Sarah was the father, and she “clearly wasn’t”, her name could not be put on the birth certificate.
“The disrespectful, indignant and irreverent attitude of the registrar made me feel stupid, like I was just a random stranger on the street,” Sara told the BBC.
After a legal dispute by the women, when the girl was 6 months old, the people’s registry tried to give them a solution. Sarah had to adopt her son to be his legal mother.
In 2015, several meetings were organized with social workers to assess her eligibility to become a mother. She was told that adopting a child “was not to be taken lightly” and that she had to complete a background check and apply for a court order.
The case was the subject of national controversy and caused a before and after in British justice. Since April 2015 the laws have changed in the UK thanks to Sarah’s struggle, mothers and fathers, biological or adoptive, can choose to share parental leave. This measure offers greater flexibility in using parental leave during the child’s first year.
Happy ending
Eventually Sara had to adopt her son And, in 2018, she was registered as a legal mother: “Sarah should never have adopted our child,” Helen told an English medium.
She added: “We have always been the mother of our son and it is scandalous that we went through the painful and humiliating process of Sarah that she had to adopt.”
The family’s attorney, Jeremy Ford of The Cambridge Family Law Practice, commended the women for giving up their right to anonymity and “bringing this issue to national attention, as there may be other couples who have suffered the same injustice.” “.
The British Births and Deaths Registration Act, imposed in 1835, has long prevented same-sex couples, trans men and non-binary people giving birth from being accurately included as parents of their children. Thanks to Sarah and Helen there was a before and after for these cases.
Cambridge County Council said: “We hope the ruling provides a clear path to take, to allow for the necessary legal steps to be taken to obtain a birth registration that names both parties as parents.”
“We recognize the impact this has had on the family and would welcome the opportunity to work with the Chancellor General’s office on a review to try to prevent any family or local authority from finding themselves in a similar situation again,” he said. added.
Under the new UK adoption law, couples undergoing fertility treatment can add the names of both parents to birth certificates, as long as one is the “biological mother”. This happens automatically if they are married or in a civil union.
Today Sarah Osborne and Helen Arnold have decided to have a second child in the same way. Women are the visible face of the fight for gender equality in the UK.
Source: Clarin
