An Iowa court yesterday ordered the state health department to issue an accurate death certificate for the stillborn son of Jenny and Jessica Buntemeyer.
Same-sex couples can legally marry in Iowa. When the Buntemeyers put their names in the spaces for parents on the death certificate form, however, and indicated their marriage, the certificate came back with Jenny’s name removed.
Lambda Legal helped them win their case. The Buntemeyers can never regain their child, but the victory may at least alleviate the grave insult the state added to their loss.