Pavan v. Smith

In Pavan v. Smith, the U.S. Supreme Court summarily reversed a decision by the Arkansas Supreme Court that upheld a state birth certificate law. Two married same-sex couples, who had conceived children through anonymous sperm donation, sued the Arkansas Department of Health after it refused to list both spouses as parents on their children's birth certificates. Under Arkansas law, when an opposite-sex married couple used artificial insemination, the husband was automatically listed as the father, but no equivalent presumption existed for same-sex spouses. The Supreme Court held that this disparate treatment violated the constitutional principles set out in Obergefell v. Hodges, which mandate that married same-sex couples enjoy the same “constellation of benefits” linked to marriage. The state’s refusal to recognize the nonbiological mother as a parent denied the couples equal dignity and rights.

In a per curiam decision, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Arkansas Supreme Court, holding that the state's differential treatment of same-sex parents contravened the marriage equality principles of Obergefell. The case was remanded for proceedings consistent with the opinion.

Whether an Arkansas statute that permits opposite-sex married couples to list the nonbiological parent on a birth certificate but denies that same right to same-sex married couples violates the Fourteenth Amendment as interpreted in Obergefell v. Hodges.

The ruling reinforced that the right to marry includes full access to the legal protections and benefits associated with marriage, such as the presumption of parentage on birth certificates. It confirmed that states cannot grant same-sex couples a separate and unequal subset of rights. The decision was hailed as a critical victory for LGBTQ families, ensuring that children of same-sex spouses are entitled to a legally recognized parental relationship from the moment of birth and eliminating a form of state-sponsored discrimination.