Terrific news from Massachusetts today! Just before 3 a.m. this morning, the legislature enacted the Massachusetts Parentage Act, updating state parentage laws to better protect the children of LGBTQ parents, those formed via assisted reproduction, and those with de facto or functional parents.
As the Olympics roll on, let’s celebrate with some recent board, picture, chapter, and middle grade books featuring LGBTQ athletes and sports themes! Check out these exciting biographies and imaginative fiction titles.
The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that a nongenetic mother is a legal parent to the children her same-sex former spouse gave birth to during their marriage. The decision affirmed that the best interests of a child, not just the genetic connection (or lack thereof) to a parent, must be considered in determining parentage.
Training to be an elite athlete is tough. Parenting is tough. Being a queer person can be tough. Yet some of the athletes and coaches in the Paris Olympics are doing all three, and deserve our special respect and admiration. Here’s a little about them and their families.
Brian Rosenberg is on a very personal mission to help LGBTQ+ people build their families. When he was in his 20s and 30s, he said in an interview, “Gay men were not thinking about becoming parents because everyone who would have done it was dying, and many of us, like myself, have HIV, and so we weren’t planning for it.”
As parents, we know what it’s like to change plans on a dime: to cancel a playdate because someone caught a cold or make a last-minute clothing swap (ours or the kids’) because of a spill. We adapt and move on, still focused on the ultimate goal of what’s best for our family. It’s kind of like politics.
WNBA basketball star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner and her spouse, attorney Cherelle Griner, are parents! The couple announced the arrival of their first child today, just ahead of the WNBA All-Star Weekend.
This edition includes two (!) stories about queer moms both giving birth and gaining doctorates within ridiculously short time frames; two involving reciprocal in vitro fertilization (RIVF); legal inequalities in fertility care and parentage; the profile of a beloved bisexual children’s author; and more that I haven’t covered elsewhere.
Queer parents and prospective parents can sometimes have a hard time finding support and community. Marea Goodman, a licensed midwife and queer parent, is hoping to make that easier with PregnantTogether, a growing virtual community for queer and solo parents and parents-to-be.
Family Equality CEO Jaymes Black, who has led the national organization for LGBTQ+ families since early 2021, is moving on to become CEO at The Trevor Project, which works to end suicide among LGBTQ+ young people.
