The State of Massachusetts is a hair’s breadth away from changing the meaning of family at the most nascent level of government involvement – the birth certificate.
The House Ways and Means Committee voted 40-0 to adopt the bill H.4750 after several rounds of amendments which will move it along to the senate for final approval. If passed birth certificates in Massachusetts will no longer use common familial terminology like “mother” or “father” but “person who gave birth” and “other parent”.
The bill was co-sponsored by some sixty-two representatives, of which three were Republicans, the rest Democrats save for one who is listed as “unenrolled”.
The forty-two page bill systematically re-writes the language common to birth certificates throughout the United States creating a pathway for other states to follow suit.
The state of Vermont began this assault on birth certificates back in April of 2022 by passing a bill allowing Vermonters to change their birth certificates to match their preferred gender identity while offering a third option “x”. X is intended to open the door to such chosen identities as “non-binary” among others.
Language intended to erase mother and father from the legal lexicon related to a child’s parents is found in sections 33 and 34 which read:
“SECTION 33. Said section 8 of said chapter 209C, as so appearing, is hereby further
184 amended by striking out, in line 7, the words “mother or putative father submits” and inserting in
185 place thereof the following words:- person who gave birth or alleged genetic parent submits
186 sufficient evidence of parentage, which may include evidence.
SECTION 34. Said section 8 of said chapter 209C, as so appearing, is hereby further
188 amended by striking out, in lines 12 and 13, the words “father or mother” and inserting in place
189 thereof the following word:- parent.”
Also running afoul of the progressive need to redefine terms is the phrase “child born out of wedlock” to be replaced with “nonmarital child”.
A deeper examination of the document reveals another sweeping power grab by the state who, after redefining family, offers itself power over determining who are the rightful parents. Vague legalese seems to offer the state the ability to deny parents based on adjudicating and conferring the claim to parentage solely to the “person who gives birth” effectively stripping the father of any rights to claim their child:
“Section 14. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, an action to establish parentage
252 of a child may be instituted during pregnancy but shall only be filed by the person to give birth
253 or their representative or by the IV-D agency as set forth in chapter 119A on behalf of the person
254 to give birth. In the case of any complaint brought prior to the birth of the child, no final
255 judgment on the issue of parentage shall be made until after the birth of the child; provided,
256 however, that the court may order temporary support or health care coverage.”
So the State of Massachusetts is not just Big Brother it’s now your daddy.
If the ease with which the bill has passed the house is any indication of its fate in the senate Massachusettsen’s can be expected to adopt this new bill and revision to what it means to be a family and parents faster than you can say mama or dada.
