LGBTQ EQUALITY LEGISLATIVE PACKAGE - In Memory of Major Sagi Golan

Photo by Ilan Sapira

Parental Registration Heterosexual couples (married or publicly known) can easily and straightforwardly register as parents of their child based on a joint notification at the hospital immediately after birth. In contrast, same-sex couples must petition the court for a “Judicial Parenting Order.” This procedure is cumbersome and unnecessary, requiring the new parents to spend thousands of Israeli Shekels and meet arbitrary and irrelevant criteria merely to be registered as the child’s parents. The legal process can extend over several months, during which only the biological parent is recognized by the authorities, leaving the other parent without any rights or responsibilities towards the child, as if they were a stranger. This situation is intolerable and violates the principle of the child’s welfare.

Orly Weisselberg-Zur: “ The State of Israel refuses to register us as the mothers of our children . We are forced to navigate the courts, providing various proofs and evidence, while any straight man can be registered as a father at birth based solely on his declaration. Until the court order is received, we lack legal status regarding our children. It’s certainly time for change.”

Required Action Amend the Population Registry Law to enable the registration of a biological parent’s spouse as a parent under the same conditions applied to heterosexual spouses.

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