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’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.
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.
![IVF; Photo credit: DrKontogianniIVF [CC BY 2.0]](https://i0.wp.com/mombian.com/images/ivf_fuscia.jpg?fit=1024%2C538&ssl=1)
The Alabama Supreme Court ruled Friday that frozen embryos should be considered “children,” in a case that some fertility healthcare advocates are calling “a terrifying development,” with “devastating consequences” for people needing fertility treatments like in vitro fertilization (IVF). My spouse and I created our family via IVF, so this one’s personal to me.
![Photo credit: DrKontogianniIVF [CC BY 2.0]](https://i0.wp.com/mombian.com/images/ivf_aqua.jpg?fit=1024%2C538&ssl=1)
A federal bill introduced yesterday would make access to IVF and other assisted reproductive technology (ART) a statutory right. The bill comes in the wake of the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn abortion rights, which many fear will lead to restrictions on other aspects of reproductive health care.
After a 2023 that saw a rise in anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and more than 500 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced across the country, where should LGBTQ parents and our allies put our efforts to advance equality in 2024? Experts at several leading LGBTQ organizations shared their thoughts with me.
The European Parliament voted last week in support of legislation that would require all EU states to recognize parentage granted in another EU state. That’s good news, particularly for children of LGBTQ parents—but the legislation is not yet guaranteed to become law.
This past year saw many setbacks for LGBTQ parents and our children—but also some important wins. Experts at several leading LGBTQ organizations shared their thoughts with me about the ups and downs of 2023.
Yesterday, 20 years to the week after Massachusetts became the first U.S. state to legalize marriage equality, LGBTQ parents and others testified in support of legislation to finally update the state’s parentage laws so that children of LGBTQ parents—and all children—have equal access to the security of legal parentage.
Parents with identities across the LGBTQ spectrum won elections this week in state legislatures, city governments, school boards, and more, even in states where you might not expect it!
