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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Robert Booth Social affairs correspondent

Mother in same-sex relationship will not have to adopt child to be recognised as parent

Sarah Osborne (left) and Helen Arnold, both 48. A high court judge declared Osborne the child's legal parent, granting the couple a fresh birth certificate.
Sarah Osborne (left) and Helen Arnold, both 48. A high court judge declared Osborne the child's legal parent, granting the couple a fresh birth certificate. Photograph: Family handouts/PA

A woman in a same-sex relationship who was forced to adopt her child because officials refused to register her as her child’s mother has secured a high court ruling quashing the adoption.

Sarah Osborne, 48, and Helen Arnold, 48, had a baby with the help of IVF in 2014 but Osborne was forced to go through the “painful and humiliating” process of formally adopting her child – including being interviewed by social workers about her suitability as a parent and undergoing criminal records checks.

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