An attempt by two gay men who adopted a child born in Louisiana to force that state to reissue a birth certificate in their name has been struck down by US Appeals court.

The two men, Oren Adar and Mickey Smith, jointly adopted a Louisiana-born boy in New York in 2006, and they sought to have the state alter the birth cert to include their names. Louisiana, however, does not recognise unmarried couples as adoptive parents, so they sued the state.

However, their request was rejected on Tuesday by a full panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.

The court said that that marriage was “associated with better outcomes for children”.

“This fact alone provides a rational basis for Louisiana’s adoption regime and corresponding vital statistics registry,” it added.

Pro-family groups have welcomed the decision.  Senior Legal Counsel for the Alliance Defence Fund,  Austin R. Nimocks said: “Everyone knows two men cannot create a child.  Thankfully, the court affirmed that the U.S. Constitution does not force states to pretend they can,” said ADF.  

“Everyone understands why birth certificates specify ‘mother’ and ‘father,’ and that’s what vital records are supposed to confirm. The state of Louisiana has every right to act in accordance with its own statutes and refuse to manipulate a birth certificate.”

The couple demanded that a Louisiana registrar replace the names of the boy’s biological parents with their own on the child’s birth certificate. The registrar declined and offered instead to list only one of the men’s names on the certificate. Adar and Smith rejected the alternative and filed the suit Adar v. Smith against Louisiana State Registrar Darlene Smith.

A judge with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana ordered the registrar to issue the certificate with the two men listed both as “fathers,” in violation of state law.

A three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit later upheld the decision, but a full panel of the 5th Circuit reversed the decision Tuesday.

“In this case, Louisiana may rationally conclude that having parenthood focused on a married couple or single individual–not on the freely severable relationship of unmarried partners–furthers the interests of adopted children,” the 5th Circuit noted, citing research underscoring the importance of stable family structures for the well-being of children.

“In particular,” the court continued, “the report noted that marriage, when compared to cohabitation, ‘is associated with better outcomes for children,’ since marriage is more likely to provide the stability necessary for the healthy development of children.

“This fact alone provides a rational basis for Louisiana’s adoption regime and corresponding vital statistics registry. Moreover, since the law here attempts neither to encourage marriage nor to discourage behavior deemed immoral…, but rather to ensure stable environments for adopted children, the court has sufficient basis to hold that the Louisiana law does not run afoul of the equal protection clause.”