I started my family more than two decades ago via in vitro fertilization (IVF), and I’ve watched with growing alarm as the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that overturned federal abortion rights two years ago has also endangered access to this common fertility technique. Jennifer Klein, director of the White House Gender Policy Council, spoke with me about the threat and the Biden administration’s response.
The Massachusetts House unanimously passed critical legislation yesterday that would update the state’s parentage laws to better protect the children of LGBTQ parents and others regardless of the circumstances of their birth. Representatives spoke of how current laws shockingly fall short and urged passage of the bill for both personal and societal reasons.
As we head into Pride Month, I am moved once again to ponder all that I am proud of. My son tops the list, as always—but I am also proud of how we LGBTQ families and our allies have been able to keep pushing towards equality, despite an unprecedented amount of anti-LGBTQ legislation and rhetoric right now.
Twenty years ago today, two moms received the first marriage license deliberately issued to a same-sex couple in the United States. They were accompanied by their daughter and by the attorney (another another queer mom) who had led the landmark case for marriage equality. Let’s take a further look at how parents and the welfare of children helped accomplish this milestone.
All children gain security and benefits from legal ties to their parents. Yet children with LGBTQ parents, and those born through assisted reproduction, lack clear and simple ways to establish legal parentage in many states. Two key advocates in Michigan’s successful recent effort to make parentage laws more equitable and inclusive shared advice with me that they hope will help other states do the same.
Healthcare insurance giant Aetna has agreed to a settlement after improperly making LGBTQ policyholders pay more out of pocket than others for fertility services.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under President Biden has released new regulations affirming nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people in health care and for LGBTQ youth in foster care, and requiring access to foster care placements that are supportive of a child’s LGBTQI+ status or identity.
The U.S. Department of Education has released regulations that will better protect LGBTQ students, sexual violence survivors, and others against discrimination in schools. Regulations addressing the inclusion of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex students in school sports, however, are still pending.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) has signed legislation updating the state’s parentage laws to reflect the many ways families are formed today and equally protect all of the children in them, including those with LGBTQ parents. At least three other states have similar legislation pending—though many others lag behind.
A North Carolina Appeals Court has ruled that a nonbiological mother, despite sharing custody of the child she and her former partner had via IVF, does not owe child support because she is not a legal parent and did not agree in writing to provide support.
