loopyloulaura

I am a little bit cross. I have been kind of preoccupied in a happy way about the wedding (no surprise!) but my attention has been drawn to something that has really wound me up.

Over half term, both a friend and my sister have mentioned to me that we need to re-register Zach’s birth.

Why?

Because due to an out of date ridiculous law (the 1976 Legitimacy Law), it is a legal requirement that we re-write the truth.

That’s right: we have to LIE.

A legal document that lies!

We HAVE to re-register so that Zach becomes a ‘child of the marriage’ or we face a fine. Well, he isn’t a child of our marriage, he is part of our relationship, an integral part of our family history.

I can see the benefit to legitimising children in the past – you know, 200 years ago when property was precious – but surely in the twenty first century the stigma of illiegitimacy no longer exists. I can’t believe the law hasn’t been updated to reflect the changing social climate.

As well as the blatant lie, I’m annoyed at the expense of paying for a new certificate as well as the effort of having to organise an appointment and attend it.

The form annoys me. Although to be fair I was irritated by the original birth certificate too as it lists the father first. Again showing that the legal system still values men more than women. I think the least a mum deserves after the effort of having a baby is the first mention on the birth certificate?!

The form to re-register still gives the father’s details first and then ask for the mother’s starting with SURNAME NOW. Well, I’m not changing my name so it will be exactly the same as it was on the perfectly good original document. Completely pointless. Then I have to sign to declare that Chris is Zach’s father. I find this a bit demeaning.

As far as I’m concerned, the whole process is archaic and slightly offensive.

I love all three of my children equally. I don’t love Zach more because he is the result of a happy relationship. I don’t love Matthew and Anya more because I had to be both parents to them for so many years. If we have another child, I won’t love it more because it was born in wedlock.

Sorry for my little rant today! Back to happy thoughts about the wedding…