Pavan v. Smith

As this Court explained in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. ----, 135 S.Ct. 2584 , 192 L.Ed.2d 609 (2015), the Constitution entitles same-sex couples to civil marriage "on the same terms and conditions as opposite-sex couples." Id., at ----, 135 S.Ct., at 2605 . In the decision below, the Arkansas Supreme Court considered the *2077 effect of that holding on the State's rules governing the issuance of birth certificates. When a married woman gives birth in Arkansas, state law generally requires the name of the mother's male spouse to appear on the child's birth certificate-regardless of his…