Bulgarian Officials Ordered To Provide ID For Lesbian Couple’s Baby

A Bulgarian court on Monday (May 16) ordered city hall authorities in the capital Sofia to issue a birth certificate to the stateless baby of a same-sex couple from Bulgaria and Gibraltar.

Authorities in Sofia had refused to acknowledge the marriage of the child's two mothers, Kalina Ivanova from Bulgaria and Jane Jones from Gibraltar.

According to Euro News, Bulgarian law currently states that any child born to a Bulgarian parent has Bulgarian citizenship, but the country does not recognize same-sex unions.

The baby – named Sara – was born in Spain in 2019 but was unable to obtain nationality because neither of her parents was Spanish. She was also unable to claim British citizenship because her mother from Gibraltar was not born in the UK itself.

But, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that Bulgaria had violated the girl's fundamental rights.

“Bulgaria cannot refuse to recognize that Sara is descended from both her parents on the grounds that the national legislation does not provide for the institution of same-sex marriage,” the Sofia court said.

The mothers’ lawyer, Denitsa Lyubenova, has hailed the decision as a landmark for the LGBTQ+ community.

“After years of tireless work we have won a step in the fight for equality,” she said in a statement.

The couple meanwhile said they were “extremely happy” that their baby would be finally able to leave Spain.

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