Female couples can now register as parents on newborn's birth certificate in Nova Scotia
Both members of female same-sex couples can now register as parents on their newborn's birth certificate in Nova Scotia.
The provincial government made the announcement in a news release on Wednesday, which is when changes to the birth registration rules for female couples came into effect.
Colton LeBlanc, the minister of Service Nova Scotia, said in the release that rules have made it hard for some parents to be legally recognized as family.
"These changes will mean parents can focus on what's most important — raising their new baby," he said.
Until now, female couples who used a known sperm donor to conceive had to adopt in order for both parents to be listed on their child's birth certificate registration. This did not apply to families that used an anonymous donor.
In situations where there is a known sperm donor, a legal agreement must be signed by the donor before the baby is conceived to "ensure legal clarity on who has parental rights," the release said.
Families who already have a pre-conception parentage agreement will not have to go through the adoption process, it said.
Another change applies to families using a surrogate to conceive. Those couples will still need a signed surrogacy agreement before the baby is conceived. But under the changes, they will be able to apply to Vital Statistics to include the names of the intended parents on the birth registration without a court order.
According to the province, 27 female couples registered a birth using assisted conception in 2023, and 14 babies born using surrogacy were registered that year.
Naming both parents on the birth registration and birth certificate allows both to apply for social insurance numbers, make medical and legal decisions for their child and apply for a passport, the province said.
The cost to get a pre-conception parentage agreement costs around $1,000 and applying to the court for adoption can cost $5,000 or more.
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