06/29/2026
The Supreme Court of the United States is expected to issue its birthright citizenship opinion tomorrow. The case is about whether President Trump can, by Executive Order, restrict whether babies born on U.S. soil automatically become U.S. citizens. The impact of upholding the Executive Order will be felt by all us because our children/grandchildren won't be able to use the U.S. state issued birth certificates to prove their U.S. citizenship. But the impact will be even more profound on immigrants-whether here with or without legal documentation. Many of the children born to 100% legal immigrants would be denied U.S. citizenship.
And anyone who pursued assisted reproduction to have children would also feel the impact because terms such a "biological progenitor" and "mother" and "father" would need to be interpreted in the context of the court decision and the EO. This means that people who are U.S. citizens may find that the children they give birth in the United States may not themselves be U.S. citizens. Ironically, one of the groups that would be most profoundly impacted are conservative Christian families having kids through "embryo adoption" (we prefer to call it be the scientific name of "embryo donation".)
Until the opinion hits the internet tomorrow, what I say now is just speculation. But let's talk tomorrow.
