BIRTH CERTIFICATES
By H. J. FLOWERS
THE statement of the Minister of Health that he proposes to introduce a Bill for allowing a modified and abridged Birth Certificate will give satisfaction to all interested in the welfare of the illegitimate child. A good many people have been advocating legislation of this kind for a very long time. There are many occa- sions when it is necessary for people to produce evidence of birth— when they go to school or college, when they enter the Civil Service or the Armed Forces, when they take up new positions, take certain examinations, insure their lives, and so on. In all such cases, the decision of the official body should not depend in any way upon the legitimacy of the person concerned. It should depend only upon the age. There are, of course, some occasions when it is necessary to prove parentage and legitimate birth as well as age— cases of inheritance and right to an hereditary dignity, and so on— but it is safe to say that for every case where proof of parentage is required there arc ten cases where only age is required.
The birth certificate in England at the present moment contains the name and place of birth of the child, the date of the birth, the name, surname, rank and profession of the father, and the maiden name of the mother, as well as other details. When the child is illegitimate the name of the father is not mentioned, except the joint request of the father and the mother. Generally, this space is left blank, and that shows at once that the child is illegitimate. Even if the father's name is mentioned, with the mother's name different and the child taking her name, the illegitimacy remains clear. In countries where there is compulsory registration—and it is by no means a universal practice—there are several ways of deal- ing with the illegitimate child. In most cases, mention is made of the fact. In others, the different names of the two parents, with the child taking the name of the mother, reveal the illegitimacy. In others, the name of the father is omitted altogether. In Turkey, they have the custom of calling the father of an illegitimate child Abdullah. That saves, they think, the disclosure of illegitimacy. In fact, of course, it does nothing of the sort. Whoever I as a certificate with Abdullah for his father's name has to bear the stigma of illegitimacy.
At one time these requirements were not a very serious matter. The registers were in the charge of Civil Servants, and the general public had no access to them Almost invariably, in the history of registration, access to the register was allowed only by an express injunction of a competent court of law. On the other hand, in some countries (Venezuela, for example) any member of the general public can, on the payment of a fee, examine the register. That until recent days meant very little. Few people needed birth certificates. But now they are needed for all kinds of occasions, and have to be presented in the locality of the person concerned. The usual thing has been to allow extracts to be taken from the register, and if these were made in the prescribed way, for them to be accepted by the Courts. The trouble has been that often damaging facts have been revealed, which have yet been of no importance to the authorities. In some countries, the extract is a complete copy of the birth certificate. That shows almost always whether or not the child is legitimate. Sometimes, when the child has been legiti- mised after its birth, that also is recorded in the register, and so on the certificate, and the child is still branded.
In many countries, an abridged certificate is allowed. That is the case in Scotland, and that apparently is what is proposed by the Minister. But it is no solution. In some countries, abridged certificates are given only in cases where the children have been born out of wedlock_ Whether they are legitimised after birth or not makes no difference. That is, of course, merely for the pro- tection of the father, and it is of no use to the child. Every person possessing an abridged certificate is known to be illegitimate. In som.i countries, the custom is to provide for everybody an abridged certificate, which contains little more than the name, and date and place of birth. A full certificate with facts of parentage recorded is provided for those who can show evidence of legal right to it. In Germany abridged certificates bear the full name, with the date and place of birth. In Finland there is, for certain purposes, a certificate which provides the same facts. In Ontario, a birth certificate is issued providing full name, sex, date and place of birth. In Maryland the name and date of birth are mentioned but not the place of it. Wisconsin gives a certificate containing the name, the date and place of birth, and the maiden name of the mother. That is not satisfactory. The trouble, of course, is over the name of the father.
There are also different regulations on the use of birth certificates. In Germany for purposes of education, examinations, military service, insurance, social services and pensions, the abridged certifi- cate is used and the full certificate is not allowed. In some countries, the abridged certificate is used for all purposes except those in which it is necessary to establish the fact of legitimate descent from a particular father. This leads us to certain conclusions. It is of no use whatever only to provide an abridged certificate. If that is what the Minister is after, he is wasting his time. That will enable anybody to deduce illegitimacy, since all legitimate people will obtain the full certificate to prevent their being suspected of illegitimacy. The only way to get over the difficulty is to make an order that for normal purposes the only certificate given and allowed to be used is that providing essential facts of name and date and place of birth. That will ensure legal proof of ' irth, of age and of nationality. And all people will be treated alike, from a Prince of the blood to the pauper child born in the institution. Also any person requiring a copy of the birth certificate should produce evidence satisfactory to the registrar of his or her right to have it. A full certificate, that is a full copy of the entries in the register, should be granted for the purpose of proving parentage, legitimacy and so on only in cases where a competent court of law gives the applicant written authority, or where some statutory body needs the information for its own proper use. For any other person to ask for it or to try to obtain the information without autlio.-ity should be considered an indictable offence.
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