- Yesterday’s Boston Globe had a front-page article on children looking for their anonymous sperm donors. While not specific to lesbian families, there are obvious connections. The article notes that at the end of October, a woman in Canada filed that country’s first class-action lawsuit on behalf of donor-conceived offspring, asking “that all donor records be preserved . . . and that offspring be granted the same right to access as adopted children have to the records of their birth parents.” (See also my interview with Sherron Mills, founder and CEO of Pacific Reproductive Services, which has the largest selection of willing-to-be-known donors in the U.S.)
Feel free to leave a comment with your reflections and experiences regarding known vs. unknown donors. This is always a personal decision, but I think it helps to hear other people’s thoughts on the matter.
- SFGate has more on the lesbian mom who was asked to resign as president of the PTO at her son’s Catholic school after she spoke at a vigil against Prop 8. She and her spouse are now looking for a new school for their son.
- Teresa Pelham’s “The Current Parent” column in the Hartford Courant offers insight for straight parents trying to explain same-sex parents to their children. “When kids are raised by parents who regularly socialize with same-sex couples, the questions are rare,” she asserts. “It’s all they’ve ever known. . . . Talking to your kids about gay marriage and different kinds of families is far easier than most of the topics we’re all going to face as parents, and a simpler conversation than many anticipate.”
- Amendments that ban civil marriage rights of same-sex couples “have led to higher levels of stress and anxiety among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adults, as well as among their families of origin,” according to several new studies from the American Psychological Association. Not to mention what they may do to the children.
- The Portuguese are becoming more accepting of same-sex parents, especially lesbians, according to The Portuguese News Online. The article was based on a study among university students in social work, however, so I see this less as a statement about the overall society and more about the next generation. (One could say the same about the U.S., too, based on the majority of younger people who voted against Prop 8.)