Spanish Lesbian Couple Sues Authorities After Denial of Artificial Insemination

A Spanish lesbian couple has filed a lawsuit against authorities who denied them to have a child through artificial insemination.

The pair sued the Spanish health ministry, regional authorities, and a Madrid hospital, a spokeswoman for the group Women's Link Worldwide told AFP, as reported by Yahoo! News. Their request was turned down due to "a government regulation that effectively denies it to women without a male partner, said the group, which advised the couple in the case," the news outlet added.

The women's lawyer Carmen Miguel said in a statement that the two women's lawsuit was done "so that no other woman who opts to be a mother will be discriminated against by the public health system," Yahoo! News further reported from AFP. On Monday, a court heard the duo's case and issued a ruling at a later date.

The Spanish couple insisted that denying them artificial insemination discriminates and breaches their reproductive health rights. Women Link's Worldwide said that the two's procedure began in 2014 but was told by a hospital last November that they could not continue anymore because of an order from the health ministry that was issued the previous month, Yahoo! News added.

"The rights group said the ministry granted the treatment only to couples who had spent 12 months unsuccessfully trying to have a child through sexual intercourse, excluding lesbian couples de facto," AFP wrote, as reported by Yahoo! News.

Later on, the hospital said that a reassessment was done to the women's case, allowing them to continue their treatment for artificial insemination. The couple, however, decided to push through with the lawsuit, the news outlet noted.

First Marriage License Issued to Gay Couple in Kentucky

Kentucky clerk Brian Mason has issued its first ever gay marriage license to a lesbian couple on Monday, CBS Local reported.

The license was issued after Rowan County clerk Kim Davis returned to work from being detained in jail for refusing to give marriage licenses to gay couples due to her religious beliefs. Davis said that she wouldn't be interfering with her deputies granting marriages license to members of the LGBT community, but she "questions whether they're valid without her authorization," the news outlet added.

According to ABC News, Davis never left her office while Mason was issuing the license to the gay couple. Davis also told reporters that the licenses are being issued under the federal authority. She was jailed on Sept. 3 after refusing to comply with U.S. District Court Judge David Bunning's marriage license mandate. Davis was released from custody five days later.