The town hall of the town of Langeais, in Indre-et-Loire, had refused for several months to recognize the birth of Timoté, born without medical assistance on July 2. After taking legal action, the parents of the child were finally able to win their case six months later.
It took six months for the parents of little Timoté, born on July 2, to obtain their child’s birth certificate. Indeed, the municipality of Langeais, in Indre-et-Loire, refused to register his birth, on the grounds that the infant was born by an unassisted delivery (ANA), that is to say carried out without the assistance of medical personnel.
As reported TF1Info, the parents ended up winning their case. “After six months of steps and waiting, Timoté finally has a legal identity”, rejoiced Aurore, his mother, with our colleagues.
The child’s parents, in the five days following his birth, constantly went to ask for his registration in the civil status, his birth certificate – written by the father – as proof . But they only suffered consecutive refusals from the town hall, which demanded recognition signed by a health professional.
For Pierre-Alain Roiron, the mayor of the town, the town hall acted “legally”. However, under the law, “the civil registrar should not be able to refuse to establish the act even when the declarant comes ’empty-handed'”, explains to our colleagues Me Alice Antoine, lawyer specializing in family law.
“Home birth is perfectly legal”
Justice therefore ended up giving reason to the parents. After a hearing with the prosecutor, the latter indeed made a request for a judicial declaration of birth to the family court.
“The judges recalled that home birth is perfectly legal and that not so long ago it was the norm”, explains the mother, who recognizes however that “today, the officers of civil status encounter few cases” of this kind.
Finally, it was on December 27 that the parents received the court decision. On January 4, the birth of Timoté was registered at the town hall. If the couple now hopes to “find a serene life”, however, they intend to “take steps to assert the financial, but also moral damage suffered” with the town hall and the prosecutor.