“Everyone Was In to Do the Right and Just Thing for LGBTQ+ Families” in New Connecticut Parentage Law

Yesterday, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont (D) signed the Connecticut Parentage Act (CPA), which better protects all children, regardless of the circumstances of their birth or the marital status, gender, or sexual orientation of their parents, and gives nonbiological/nongestational parents a simpler, faster way to establish legal parentage.

Connecticut had been the only New England state that left children born to non-biological, non-marital parents wholly unprotected in its parentage laws. The CPA remedies that. At a signing ceremony at the state Capitol yesterday, Governor Lamont said, “The Connecticut Parentage Act, which I’ve signed into law, is another step forward in that movement to help break down bureaucratic barriers that families can face simply because of the sexual orientation or gender of the parents,” adding, “Any day that we can expand equal protection for all individuals is a good day.”

Gov. Lamont was joined by Connecticut Office of Early Childhood Commissioner Beth Bye, Senator Alex Kasser (D – Greenwich), State Representatives Jeff Currey (D – East Hartford, Manchester, South Windsor) and Raghib Allie-Brennan (D – Bethel, Danbury, Newtown, Redding), and advocates from GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), Yale Law School, New Haven Pride Center, and other organizations. The ceremony ended with a raising of the Pride flag over the Capitol.

Yale Law Professor Douglas NeJaime, principal drafter of the bill (and also a queer dad), said at the signing that, “As someone whose research and writing has been dedicated to parentage law, I can tell you now that Connecticut has perhaps the most comprehensive, most inclusive, and most child-centered parentage law in the country.” He explained (my bold):

The Parentage Act overhauls our state’s parentage laws to protect children’s relationships with their parents, including children conceived through assisted reproduction, children whose parents are unmarried, children whose parents are not biologically connected to them, and children whose parents are LGBTQ. The Act makes parentage law gender neutral, ensuring that same-sex couples and trans parents have equal access to parentage.

Same-sex couples are raising children and they necessarily include a non-genetic parent. Treating LGBTQ people with the respect they deserve requires straightforward paths to parental recognition for nonbiological parents. This Act provides those paths, without regard to sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or marital status. An individual who consents to assisted reproduction with the intent to be a parent of the child will be treated by law as a parent. Nonbiological parents can secure their parentage at the moment of their child’s birth. In the hospital, they’ll be able to sign an Acknowledgement of Parentage, a simple administrative form. The formation of a parent-child relationship doesn’t turn on a biological connection.

That’s right. An Acknowledgment of Parentage establishes a legal parent-child relationship for the nonbiological/nongestational parent immediately upon a child’s birth, without needing the expense, delay, and hassle of a home study or court hearing. Because it is equivalent to a court decree of parentage, an Acknowledgment of Parentage in theory removes the need for a confirmatory (second-parent) adoption, though this has not yet been tested in court—for more about them, see my piece from last August. (Simply being on a child’s birth certificate, as always, is not enough.)

Polly Crozier, senior staff attorney at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and also a queer mom, called the CPA both simple and groundbreaking. She explained:

It’s so simple because it’s centering children. It’s ensuring that each child in Connecticut has equal access to the security of a legal parent-child relationship, which we all know is central to a child’s ability to thrive.

What is groundbreaking is that in a year of distance, of grappling with a public health crises, of dissonance and discord nationwide, this law represents an overwhelmingly bipartisan, everybody-all-in effort to transform an entire outdated system and protect children, regardless of their parents’ sexual orientation, their parents’ gender identity, or the circumstances of their birth. The legislature, the courts, agencies, advocates, community members, the governor, everyone was in to do the right and just thing for LGBTQ+ families.

Crozier also gave a shout-out to yesterday’s #LGBTQFamiliesDay, noting the “good timing” of the signing on that day.

The effort to pass the CPA was led by the WE CARE Coalition, consisting of families, legal advocates, and community organizations, spearheaded by a Yale Law School clinic and GLAD. Like similar legislation that has passed in Maine, Washington, Vermont, California, and Rhode Island, the CPA is based on model legislation by the Uniform Law Commission, a non-partisan body of state lawmakers, judges, scholars, and lawyers. The House passed the bill in April and Senate followed in May.

The new law will have a real and significant impact on many children and families, as was evident from testimony during the House hearing last March. It goes into effect on January 1, 2022.

With the Connecticut legislation passed, LGBTQ and family advocates in New England are already turning to Massachusetts, where the Massachusetts Parentage Act would update that state’s laws to ensure all children there have the security of legal parentage, regardless of the circumstances of their birth. Yes, despite my home state of Massachusetts being a generally good place for LGBTQ parents and our kids, there are still improvements to be made. Learn more about the Massachusetts bill and what you can do to help.