“A Big Win for Queer Families”: Aetna Agrees to LGBTQ Fertility Settlement
Healthcare insurance giant Aetna has agreed to a settlement after improperly making LGBTQ policyholders pay more out of pocket than others for fertility services.
Politics and Law
Biden Administration Affirms LGBTQ Nondiscrimination Protections in Health Care and Child Welfare
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.
Biden Administration Strengthens Title IX Nondiscrimination Protections for LGBTQ Students and Others
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 Updates Parentage Laws to Better Protect Children of LGBTQ Parents: Which State Will Step Up Next?
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.
North Carolina Ruling Shows the Price of Outdated Parentage Laws
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.
Nicole Berner Is 2nd Lesbian Mom Confirmed to Federal Bench This Month
Lesbian moms. We’re judging you. At least some of us are, with Nicole Berner confirmed by the Senate Tuesday to a seat on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, joining Melissa DuBose, another lesbian mom who was confirmed last week to a U.S. District Court seat.
Michigan Legislature Passes Bills to Legalize Surrogacy and to Ensure Children in All Families Have Equitable Access to Parentage Protections
The Michigan legislature yesterday passed the Michigan Family Protection Act, a bill package to decriminalize contractual surrogacy and to ensure that all children born via assisted reproduction—including those with LGBTQ parents—can have equitable access to legal parentage ties from birth, including via a simple acknowledgment of parentage form.
Judge (and Lesbian Mom) Melissa DuBose Confirmed to Federal Bench
Judge Melissa DuBose was confirmed Tuesday as a federal judge for the District of Rhode Island, making her the state’s first Black and first out LGBTQ federal judge, and marking the 100th time a Black woman was confirmed to a lifetime federal judiciary appointment. She and her partner of over 20 years have two sons.
Florida Students Can Now “Say Gay/LGBTQ” After Major Settlement
Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay/LGBTQ” law has been defanged. More than a dozen Florida parents, students, and teachers, plus LGBTQ organizations Equality Florida and Family Equality, who had challenged the law’s constitutionality, reached a settlement yesterday that removes the most harmful, anti-LGBTQ aspects of the legislation.
Padua Court Says Nongestational Mothers Can Be on Children’s Birth Certificates
The city court in Padua, Italy, has affirmed that children with two moms can have their nongestational mothers on their birth certificates. The ruling defies central government officials in the city, who last fall told 27 two-mom families, raising more than 30 children, that the nongestational parent was being removed from these vital documents.
