Most LGBTQ couples spend upwards of $5,000 to go through the adoption process in the United States. Canada is about to make life much easier for LGBTQ couples looking to have families. Ontario introduced legislation last week that gives same-sex parents in Ontario who aren’t biologically related to their children the same legal rights as heterosexual mothers and fathers. Nor will people who are not legally considered parents have to live in fear they cannot make medical and other decisions about their children if a spouse becomes incapacitated.
Post marriage equality, a lot of people think this is true in the United States because both moms go on the birth certificate. At the time of the birth of your child, you complete forms in order to receive a birth certificate, and if you’re married, you may list yourself as “married” on any forms. As of July 2015, the Department of Health started issuing the original birth certificate in the maiden name of the birth mother and lists the birth mother’s spouse as “Parent/Father.”
