LGBT Parenting Roundup: Mothers' Day Edition

(I’m skipping my usual Weekly Political Roundup in order to bring you a slew of mom-related stories for Mother’s (s’) Day.)

Steve Rothaus at the Miami Herald profiles Andrea Askowitz, author of My Miserable Lonely Lesbian Pregnancy, and her spouse Victoria Azpurua.
Deborah Goldstein tells the tale of buying her Jewish son a pink, sparkly book that features Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.
I like this story in the Irish Voice about two moms who had their first child in the back of a New York Cab. The paper makes no big deal about the fact that it’s two moms. It’s just an odd (though not unheard of) location to give birth. I also like the fact that the police officers who helped them later brought them two t-shirts that said “I Love My NY Mom.”
Vikki at Up Popped a Fox writes of how Minnesota’s proposed ballot initiative to ban marriage for same-sex couples will affect her family. She asks: “Luisa and I have done all we can to protect our family legally but how will we protect our children from the war of words that will take place when our civil rights are placed on the ballot for popular vote?” Excellent question.
And I have to mention this story yet again—about the mother of a critically ill child and an anti-LGBT neighbor whose mind she changed—even though I posted about it the other day. If you missed it, go read.

On a more political note, I’ll point you to a few parenting-related pieces I’ve done for Keen News Service:

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a memo encouraging child welfare agencies to better serve the needs of LGBTQ youth in the foster care system, and calling LGBT prospective parents “a largely untapped resource” for providing foster or adoptive homes to LGBTQ young people.
Many states continue to discriminate against LGBT individuals or couples in adoption and foster placements, however. Here’s my overview of the landscape. (On a related note (if you’ll forgive a bit about dads in this Mothers’ Day post), here’s the story of two gay dads in Arizona raising 12 kids.)
And U.S. Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) reintroduced the Every Child Deserves a Family Act that would withhold federal funds from states that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in adoption and foster placements, and require HHS to provide guidance and training for states and agencies.

Finally, you might want to check out (or have your kids check out) COLAGE’s LGBTQ-inclusive Mother’s (s’) Day e-cards.

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