Some happenings in the world of LGBT parenting:
- A Swedish lesbian couple is seeking 50,000 kronor ($7,700) in compensation from the Västerbotten County Council. The ombudsman against discrimination due to sexual orientation (HomO), arguing for the couple, says that in order to receive county-financed assisted insemination, a couple must be diagnosed with a medical problem. A lesbian couple’s inability to have children by themselves “is naturally no less involuntary than that which is caused by a disease,” and it is unfair that they are forced to pay for a medical investigation when the answer is pre-determined. (Thanks, PageOneQ.)
- WalesOnline brings us the story of two fathers who each transitioned to female, fell in love, and are now a couple. The story has a whiff of sensationalism and the all-too-common misconceptions about transgender people, e.g., “they gave it all up to dress as women” but I think it’s honestly trying to be sympathetic at the same time. If nothing else, it’s a reminder of the great variety of families out there, and of how difficult it can be for transitioning parents whose children reject them.
- Journalist and LGBT activist John Selig’s podcast this week features a gay dad and his 17-year-old son. (Parts One and Two. Via the Family Equality Council blog.)
- Independent.ie profiles lesbian moms Fiona Clarke and Sheila King and reviews the state of rights for same-sex couples in Ireland. It notes that even though the Goverment has proposed a civil partnership bill, civil partnerships will not provide any right for same-sex couples to be considered as joint adoptive parents.
- Four high schools in Auckland, New Zealand have policies requiring that students not bring same-sex partners to a school ball unless the pupils sign contracts stating they are gay. Rainbow Youth, an education service for gay youth, says the policies are discriminatory and breach the Bill of Rights. Why on earth schools want to ban students from simply taking a same-sex friend of any orientation is beyond me.
