News (USA)

Lesbian couple awaiting child sues Utah over marital rights

Lesbian couple awaiting child sues Utah over marital rights

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A lesbian couple awaiting a child has sued Utah, asking the state to recognize their marriage and all accompanying rights.

Kate Doe and Beth Roe were legally married in New England in 2010 and later returned to their Utah home.

According to the lawsuit filed Thursday in 3rd District Court, they decided to obtain a marriage license in Utah and renew their vows after a federal judge overturned the state’s ban on same-sex marriage in December.

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They got married before the U.S. Supreme Court granted the state’s request to halt the weddings in January.

The Deseret News reports Doe is due to give birth on Monday, and the couple claims the state’s refusal to recognize her marriage to Roe strips Doe of a legal spouse with full rights and benefits.

The suit says the two are worried Roe won’t be able to make “emergency and other significant decisions for their daughter,” who is the result of careful selection from a California sperm bank.

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