Term 'illegitimate child' abolished in 'landmark' family rights reforms

Children in Jersey born out of marriage will no longer be termed 'illegitimate'.

The term - which applied to nearly half of all babies born last year alone - has been scrapped as part of major legal reforms towards equality and family rights.

Jersey’s Children and Civil Status Reforms come into effect today (24 November). 

Children and Families Minister Constable Richard Vibert described them as a 'historic milestone'.

"This is a major step forward in promoting equality for all children, regardless of how they were conceived, and ensuring every family is treated with fairness and dignity.”

In addition to the abolition of the term 'illegitimate' for children of unmarried parents, it enshrines the entitlement of same-sex parents who use a sperm donor to conceive and the parents of babies born via surrogacy to joint parental status.

It will ensure both parents are named on their child's birth certificate.

Some parents will be able to re-register their child free of charge at the at the Office of the Superintendent Registrar.

Corrections can also be made to existing birth records where the wrong father was named due to the mother being married at the time of her child’s birth.

Superintendent Registrar Claire Follain says it is understandable why it has been deeply upsetting for parents:

"We were able to give them some comfort of 'we can't facilitate your request now, but we can in the future'.

"That's why today, when we welcome the many couples that are coming to us, we are able to place them in a position that every other parent in the island enjoys."

Claire says these changes reflect modern-day family situations:

"Jersey at times can be a little slow to keep up with societal changes, but Jersey's decided that in order to advance all the rights of children to the same status, it's important that parents can return to re-register their child so that all parents are recognised."

Other key changes:

• Parental Orders for altruistic surrogacy arrangements for Jersey-born children, giving full legal parental rights and responsibilities to the intended parents through a court process. Parental Orders already granted in the UK for Jersey-born children can now also be recognised locally.
• Parental responsibility agreements for stepparents, allowing them to gain legal responsibility for their stepchildren with the agreement of the child’s other parents.