State to Issue Birth Certificates to 2 Same-Sex Couples

The state of Kansas will issue birth certificates to two same-sex couples but will continue to study similar requests on a case-by-case basis.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment says the birth certificates in the two cases will list both members of the same-sex couples as parents of their children.

The two couples were part of pending lawsuits in state and federal court. They argued the state’s refusal to issue the birth certificates violated a recent Supreme Court ruling that states must recognize same-sex marriages.

Department spokeswoman Sara Belfry told The Lawrence Journal-World the department decided to issue the birth certificates in the two cases after reviewing applicable law and existing court orders.

But she says the state’s general policy has not changed.