Maria Gabriela Andrade Damate, who has Down syndrome, and her boyfriend Fabio Marcheti deMoraes, who has mental retardation, finally got their baby birth certificate, following a judicial battle that lasted over two months, the Brazilian press reported Friday.
Moraes, 28, was not allowed to register his daughter Valentina, who is now 11 weeks old, when she was born in the countryside of Sao Paulo state, southeastern Brazil. The notary had argued that the father was not able to declare the baby's fatherhood.
However the father declared his fatherhood on Thursday in the presence of Court Judge Erica Viana, who determined that the notary issue the document stating that the girl was Moraes and Damate's daughter.
The baby's grandmother supported the couples' decision to have a baby and said that she would take care of the baby.
Damate refused to register the girl as her daughter only. After she signed the certificate on Friday, she said that she still hoped to marry her boyfriend.
According to the press, Valentina, who is perfectly healthy, is among the only 50 children of mothers with Down syndrome registered in the world.
Although sterility is a feature of the syndrome in men, females with the disorder can get pregnant, and the genetic trace is not passed on to the child in 85 percent of the cases. Source: Xinhua
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