07-24-2011, 01:18 PM
http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northw...ays_w.html
Excerpt: "Nicolaza Eusiquio was living in a North Plains-area migrant camp in January 2005 when she gave birth to a boy -- an event attended only by her cousin. Eusiquio received no prenatal care and sought no medical attention after her son's birth. For months afterward, Eusiquio hardly left her cousin's home.
She sought a birth certificate from the Oregon Center for Health Statistics more than a year later, offering only her word and that of her cousin as proof that the boy was born here.
The state registrar turned down Eusiquio's request for a delayed birth certificate -- certificates issued more than a year after birth -- saying the mother needed documentation showing she was in Oregon at the time of her child's birth. A Marion County Circuit Court agreed; Eusiquio's son was not entitled to an Oregon birth certificate.
But earlier this year, in a highly unusual case, the Oregon Court of Appeals overturned the lower court's decision, saying statements from Eusiquio and her cousin were proof enough. It sent the case back to the trial court and, in essence, ordered that Eusiquio's son be issued an Oregon birth certificate.
On its face, the 10-page opinion is technical, dry and deals mostly with a detailed history of vital records rules in Oregon. But legal experts say the case underscores a birth certificate's growing importance as a gateway to American society in a post-9/11 world. Americans increasingly need birth certificates to do everything from obtain a driver's license to enroll in school.
And it comes at a time when some politicians have suggested that babies born in the United States to parents who are here illegally shouldn't automatically be U.S. citizens.
"What is remarkable is that this case occurs in the midst of a national outcry over immigration reform and the increasing importance of having a birth certificate to operate in our society," said Keith Cunningham-Parmeter, a professor at Willamette University's College of Law..." see article for more http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northw...ays_w.html
Excerpt: "Nicolaza Eusiquio was living in a North Plains-area migrant camp in January 2005 when she gave birth to a boy -- an event attended only by her cousin. Eusiquio received no prenatal care and sought no medical attention after her son's birth. For months afterward, Eusiquio hardly left her cousin's home.
She sought a birth certificate from the Oregon Center for Health Statistics more than a year later, offering only her word and that of her cousin as proof that the boy was born here.
The state registrar turned down Eusiquio's request for a delayed birth certificate -- certificates issued more than a year after birth -- saying the mother needed documentation showing she was in Oregon at the time of her child's birth. A Marion County Circuit Court agreed; Eusiquio's son was not entitled to an Oregon birth certificate.
But earlier this year, in a highly unusual case, the Oregon Court of Appeals overturned the lower court's decision, saying statements from Eusiquio and her cousin were proof enough. It sent the case back to the trial court and, in essence, ordered that Eusiquio's son be issued an Oregon birth certificate.
On its face, the 10-page opinion is technical, dry and deals mostly with a detailed history of vital records rules in Oregon. But legal experts say the case underscores a birth certificate's growing importance as a gateway to American society in a post-9/11 world. Americans increasingly need birth certificates to do everything from obtain a driver's license to enroll in school.
And it comes at a time when some politicians have suggested that babies born in the United States to parents who are here illegally shouldn't automatically be U.S. citizens.
"What is remarkable is that this case occurs in the midst of a national outcry over immigration reform and the increasing importance of having a birth certificate to operate in our society," said Keith Cunningham-Parmeter, a professor at Willamette University's College of Law..." see article for more http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northw...ays_w.html