KJZZ

An Arizona birth certificate issued in 2016.

The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that the state Health Department has to amend its birth certificate forms to be more inclusive to same-sex parents.

In Arizona, when a child is born, birth certificate forms have two options: mother and father or parent and parent, the latter added after same-sex marriage became legal in the state.

But being referred to as a parent wasn’t enough for Suzan Swanson and her ex-wife Kimberly McLaughlin. Both wanted to be designated as mother, especially McLaughlin who wanted recognition as the biological mother.

The suit stemmed from a custody battle when the two women divorced and McLaughlin argued her ex-wife was not a parent as defined in state law. However, she lost that case in the U.S. Supreme Court. 

A three-judge panel unanimously agreed that both women are entitled to be considered the child’s mother and birth certificate forms must be changed to reflect that.