Belgian Dad Denied Daughter’s Family Name in 38-Year Fight

A Belgian father has lost a decades-long legal battle to secure official recognition for his daughter, who was born prematurely and died hours after birth in 1988. Despite evidence that the child lived for several hours, a family court ruled in June 2026 that there was insufficient proof, denying her the right to bear her father’s family name. The case has become a catalyst for broader legislative reform in Belgium.

A Birth, a Baptism, and a Void

Tony Creemers (63), from Dessel, Belgium, and his then-wife Cosima D’Agnano welcomed their daughter Stephanie on July 2, 1988, at the Salvator Hospital in Hasselt. The pregnancy had lasted only 147 days — far short of the typical 280 days. Hospital nurses, recognizing that the infant was alive but in mortal danger, advised the parents to administer an emergency baptism, a rite that can only be given to a living person.

According to HLN, Stephanie died a few hours after birth. Tony was sent home the same day and instructed to discard all reminders of the pregnancy — including ultrasound images — so the family could “move on.” The hospital never registered Stephanie’s birth or death with the civil registry. Officially, she was recorded as stillborn after a pregnancy of less than 180 days, meaning she was never entered into the National Register.

“Officially, my daughter never even existed,” Creemers told HLN.

The Legal Framework

Belgian law distinguishes between three categories of pregnancy loss. For pregnancies under 140 days, no official recognition is possible. Between 140 and 179 days, parents may voluntarily request a certificate of a stillborn child and give the child a first name — but not a family name. Only from 180 days onward is registration mandatory, and the child can receive both a first and family name.

A 2019 legal reform allowed children stillborn after 140-180 days to receive a first name retroactively. Stephanie was given the first name her parents had chosen during pregnancy. But the family name remained out of reach.

The Court Case

Encouraged by officials at the Federal Public Service Justice, Creemers petitioned the family court for a replacement birth certificate — a step that would require proving Stephanie was born alive. On May 26, 2026, a hearing was held. Despite a positive recommendation from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the court ruled in late June against Creemers.

As The Brussels Times reported, the court stated: “The court does not dispute that the statements of the mother and maternal grandparents may be sincere. However, they are insufficient to establish with the required certainty, almost thirty-eight years after the facts, that the child was actually born alive.”

“I wish the judge had shown a little more humanity,” Creemers said. “For me, it’s too late. All those years I fought for nothing. But I do want to keep fighting for other parents of star children.”

Legislative Reform on the Horizon

The case has accelerated political action. Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden (CD&V) has prepared a draft law that would allow stillborn children (140-180 days) to receive both a first name and a family name. Approved by the Council of Ministers on July 18, 2026, the draft must pass through the Council of State and Parliament, potentially becoming law by autumn 2026. The reform would also allow retroactive addition of family names to existing certificates.

A more ambitious bill by N-VA MP Kristien Van Vaerenbergh would abolish the minimum pregnancy duration entirely, allowing recognition of all stillborn children regardless of gestational age. As The Brussels Times reported, Van Vaerenbergh argues that “the minimum limit of 140 days of pregnancy is completely arbitrary and must be abolished entirely.”

A Critical Nuance

A crucial detail in Creemers’ case is that Stephanie was not stillborn — she was born alive and lived for several hours. Under Belgian law, a child born alive should receive a birth certificate and a death certificate with a full name. The hospital’s failure to register the birth in 1988 is the root cause of the legal problem.

Advocacy group CLARA Life has praised the legislative initiatives, noting that “the grief of parents cannot be measured in days: the loss of a child, whether after eight, fifteen, or twenty weeks, remains a deep wound.”

What Comes Next

Creemers has stated he will not appeal the court’s decision, feeling defeated after decades of fighting. But he has registered Stephanie in the “star registers” of both Hasselt and Dessel — symbolic, non-official registries for children who die during pregnancy or shortly after birth. In July 2026, he had a new tattoo done on his upper arm: three intertwined hearts containing the words “Tony,” “Stephanie,” and “Creemers.”

If Verlinden’s draft law passes this autumn, parents of stillborn children between 140 and 180 days will be able to give their children a family name. Van Vaerenbergh’s broader bill, if passed, would represent a more fundamental shift in how Belgian law acknowledges pregnancy loss at any stage. For Tony Creemers, however, the victory — if it comes — will be bittersweet, arriving too late for his own daughter but offering hope to countless other parents who have faced the same invisible grief.

“When you lose a child,” Creemers said, “it doesn’t matter how long the pregnancy lasted. The grief is just as great.”