LESBIAN COUPLE FIRST ON BIRTH CERTIFICATE: From the Boston Herald
 
In a milestone for same-sex parents, a married lesbian couple from Jamaica Plain is believed to be the first homosexual pair recognized as parents on their child's birth certificate.      
 
Cora Roelofs and Liz Steinhauser are named as mother and "second parent'' on a certificate issued by the town of Wellesley and approved by the state Department of Public Health.      
 
"We hope people realize this is both justice and a joy, and we hope they support our family,'' said Roelofs, who gave birth June 4 to a boy who was conceived through artificial insemination. The birth certificate was issued June 29.      
 
The milestone became possible when same-sex couples gained the right to marry in Massachusetts on May 17. Under state law, married couples that have a child through artifical insemination are automatically recognized as parents.      
Officials with the state Department of Public Health said yesterday no final decisions have been made on whether to change the wording on birth certificates, which currently have spaces for a mother and father.      
 
Gay rights advocates said they know of a few same-sex parents that are both listed on a birth certificate, but Roelofs and Steinhauser, who were married June 3 and gave birth the next day, are believed to be the first.      
 
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