A WOMAN who discovered she was pregnant just days after her footballer boyfriend’s funeral is battling to change the law for bereaved mums and babies.
BBC’s The One Show has been filming with Kelly Bossons since 2021, and the film will appear during this evening's programme on Tuesday 7th February at 7pm on BBC One.
Bradford-born footballer Jordan Sinnott - a former student of St. Mary’s School, Menston - was just 25 when he died in hospital after a brutal assault in Retford, Nottinghamshire, in January 2020.
His partner, Kelly Bossons, discovered she was pregnant just days after Jordan’s funeral and their daughter, Maisie Jordan Sinnott, is now two years old.
But because Kelly and Jordan weren’t married, his name wasn’t allowed to be put on the birth certificate. When she received Maisie’s birth certificate, the space for father was left blank.
Kelly said: “Jordan wanted nothing more out of his life than to have kids, and it’s been taken away from him. It’s just so unfair.”
If they had been married, his name would have been on the certificate automatically. Unmarried parents aren’t allowed the same rights. Despite sharing a mortgage, and having support of his family, grieving new-mum, Kelly was told she would have to go to court.
This, despite the fact that over half of babies in the UK are now born to unmarried parents.
During filming Kelly met with campaigning mums Orlanda Bryars and Joana Niemeyer who also lost their partners while pregnant. They weren’t married either.
Orlanda, ambassador for charity Widowed and Young (WAY), says: “WAY has been campaigning so that registrars could have power to make a judgment themselves rather than having to go through a court system which is costly and unnecessary – and traumatic.”
But the law has yet to change. Kelly had to fight in court. Jordan's mum, Mel Tait, provided a DNA sample to prove that Jordan was Maisie's dad. Kelly had, of course, known this all along.
Finally Kelly has received a birth certificate with Jordan’s name included.
After her two year battle, Kelly said: “We shouldn't have had to fight to get this. We were entitled to this in the first place.”
The film for The One Show was made by Leeds-based Screenhouse Productions Ltd. Producer Ruth Bader said: “Kelly’s story is heart-breaking. We hope this film will help to raise awareness of the issue, and that the law will eventually change so that people in Kelly’s position don’t have to go through a painful court battle to get justice for their children.”
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