Maine has enacted a new law enabling LGBTQ parents to more easily secure their existing parent-child relationships and ensure their parental rights are recognized in all states. Rhode Island enacted a similar bill earlier this month, following six other states.
Progress in Maine
The new confirmatory adoption law, which Governor Janet Mills (D) signed yesterday, allows people who have had a child via assisted reproduction and are already parents under Maine law to waive many burdensome requirements for obtaining an adoption decree. The bill was sponsored by Representative Matthew Moonen (D), formerly the executive director of Equality Maine, the state’s LGBTQ advocacy organization.
Although Maine in 2016 adopted the Maine Parentage Act, which updated the state’s parentage laws to provide stronger, more equitable parentage protections for children in LGBTQ families and others, nongenetic and nongestational LGBTQ parents are still advised to get an adoption or other court judgment to protect their ties in case they travel to states that are less likely to respect their parentage. As Polly Crozier, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) Director of Family Advocacy, explained in a press statement:
LGBTQ+ parents are rightfully worried about the safety of their children and families in light of escalating bias and discrimination across the country. We have seen judges in other states strip non-biological parents of their parental rights, and we all know that extremists are escalating legislative attacks on LGBTQ+ people. An adoption decree provides additional security for LGBTQ+ families especially if they travel or move outside of Maine.
The adoption process, however, included a six-month waiting period, home study, background checks, and other requirements, as Brigid Black of Saco, Maine, testified during a hearing:
Throughout the process of the second parent adoption, the judge assigned to our case
overstepped in multiple ways. We were both asked to do background checks, even
though it wasn’t required for both parties. And even though our sperm donor
agreement was properly executed, our donor became involved and had to complete an
affidavit in support of my parentage. It was frustrating and insulting….Nonbirthing parents like me participate in all aspects of our children’s conception,
care and development. From changing their diapers and giving them medicine to
reading them books and rocking them to sleep, we are full and equal parents and
caregivers just as our birthing spouses are, and we shouldn’t have to jump through so
many hoops to adopt our own children.
The new law waives the burdensome requirements for people who are already parents under the Maine Parentage Act to children born through assisted reproduction. Per GLAD, they now only need to submit to the court “a petition signed by both parties that includes a copy of the child’s birth certificate, an explanation of the circumstances of the child’s birth through assisted reproduction, an attestation that each petitioner consented to the child’s birth through assisted reproduction, an attestation that no competing claims of parentage exist, and a copy of the parents’ marriage certificate, as applicable.”
Progress and Pending Legislation Elsewhere
In addition to Maine, the other states with statutory confirmatory adoption processes are California, Colorado, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Virginia. Some additional states and jurisdictions allow courts to waive home studies and other requirements on a case-by-case basis.
Four states—Hawaii, Kansas, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, currently have pending legislation that would update their parentage legislation more broadly to be more inclusive and equitable for LGBTQ families and others formed via assisted reproduction, as I have explained in this post.
Additional Information on Protecting Your Family
Have questions about how all this relates to your family? Just want to know more?
- GLAD and I have partnered to create “LGBTQ Paths to Parentage Security,” a guide for LGBTQ parents and others that answers frequently asked questions about how LGBTQ+ parents can ensure their child-parent relationships will be secure and recognized in every state. It explains why securing one’s parentage is important, describes the latest options and terminology, and more. If you’ve ever asked, “Do I need to secure my parentage if I’m already on my kid’s birth certificate?” or wondered how to do so, this is for you.