A mum who was forced to adopt her child when a registrar wrongly said she was not allowed to be on the birth certificate has had the decision reversed by the High Court.
Helen Arnold, 48, had her baby via IVF but when her partner Sarah Osborne tried to put her name on the birth certificate the registrar told her it couldn't be done and she "clearly wasn't the father". However the law states same-sex female couples who have a child through IVF and who consent to being treated as a parent should be named on the child’s birth certificate.
Following the birth in 2014, Ms Osborne, 48, had to legally adopt the child to be recognised as its mother. It was only when the couple had another child in 2018 and she was allowed to be put on that birth certificate that she realised the whole adoption process had been unnecessary.
