Closed petition Recognise LGBTQ+ parents equally on UK birth certificates

Closed on 8 June 2022

Birth certificates should record legal parenthood. Parents need the choice to register according to their legal gender or gender neutrally. The gender neutral 'parent' label should be available to anyone to choose.

Children must be able to know their genetic make-up and who gave birth to them.

This could be made clear or included on the certificate, or recorded separately.

UK birth registration is outdated and discriminatory.

All legal parents, including through surrogacy, must be recognised from conception and allowed to register on their child's birth certificate.

Key issues:
– Only heterosexual, cisgender couples can register accurately as "mother" and "father"
– Children born to transgender parents or through surrogacy have inaccurate birth certificates. Trans parents cannot register as their legal gender but must register as their sex assigned at birth, even if they have a Gender Recognition Certificate and therefore, an updated birth certificate
– The definition of "parent" in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act is extremely narrow and gender-specific