AA v Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages and BB [2011] NSWDC 100
Court: District Court
Judge: Walmsley SCJ
Facts: A lesbian couple (AA and AC) enlisted a sperm donor (BB) who contributed through a fertilization procedure. BB played a significant role in the pregnancy and childbirth. After the birth, the relationship soured, leading BB to file with the Family Court. Subsequently, BB’s name was added to the birth certificate. AA and AC later separated. Legislation had been updated to allow two women to be listed as parents. Only two individuals could be recognized as parents unless BB consented to the removal of his name, which he declined. AA sought to have her name included on the child’s birth certificate, a request the Court granted.
Reasoning: According to the Status of Children Act 1996 (NSW), since the child was conceived through a fertilization procedure, BB is presumed not to be the child’s parent, while AA is presumed to be the parent. Section 14 of the Act specifies that when a woman, partnered with another woman, undergoes a fertilization procedure and becomes pregnant, the other woman is presumed to be a parent of any resulting child. In cases where a woman becomes pregnant through a fertilization procedure using sperm from a man who is not her husband, that man is presumed not to be the father if there is a conflict in parentage presumptions. The irrebuttable presumption of the female partner’s parentage overrides the presumption of the father’s parentage (See: Status of Children Act 1996, Section 14, New South Wales Consolidated Acts).
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