A mother in Shanghai is suing a social security department for rejecting her application for maternity benefits because she is not married.
The Shanghai Supreme People’s Court accepted her appeal application last month for what is the first maternity insurance lawsuit involving an unmarried parent, The Beijing News reported August 29.
Zhang Meng’s case began in 2016. She had just broken up with her boyfriend and found out she was pregnant. She applied for maternity insurance at the Shanghai Social Insurance Administration Center after giving birth in 2017. However, the center denied her claim on the grounds she did not have a marriage certificate.
Part of China’s social security system, maternity insurance often provides financial help such as lost wages and medical fees to women who give birth.
She had lost two previous lawsuits against the center because only married couples qualify for maternity insurance in Shanghai.
Xu Mingxuan, a Shanghai based lawyer, told The Beijing News that Zhang’s is a landmark case that might set a legal precedent for the rights of unmarried parents.
Indeed, the original purpose of the maternity insurance is to protect the rights of women giving birth. However. it became a tool of birth control during the implementation, said Xu.
Under the current laws, the hope of the Shanghai Supreme Court to hear the appeal was dim. But the court accepted the appeal. Xu thought it was a positive signal.
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