The Illinois General Assembly yesterday passed the Equality for Every Family Act (HB 2568), which updates the state’s parentage laws to better protect the children of LGBTQ parents and others formed via assisted reproduction.
In a win for queer families, a Georgia appeals court has affirmed that a nongestational mother is a legal parent to the child she and her then-spouse had via assisted insemination. It’s great news—but should also serve as a cautionary tale.
Children in Hawaii with LGBTQ parents now have access to more secure legal protections, after Hawaii Governor Josh Green (D) yesterday signed legislation updating the state’s parentage laws to be more inclusive of them and other children formed via assisted reproduction.
A new Nevada law will make it easier for nongestational LGBTQ parents to confirm their legal parentage via adoption, without burdensome and unnecessary requirements. Nevada becomes the 11th state to enact such legislation, less than two weeks after Vermont became the 10th.
I had a wonderful time with my spouse Helen at Family Equality’s Night at the Pier gala in New York City last night, where a record-breaking crowd turned out in support of the 46-year-old organization’s vital work for LGBTQ families.
The Ohio Supreme Court will consider a case tomorrow about the legal parentage of nongenetic/nongestational parents in same-sex couples who had children before they could legally wed. It underscores the pressing need for updated parentage legislation around the country.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled that a nongenetic, nongestational lesbian mother is a legal parent to the child she and her former spouse had planned for and conceived through assisted reproduction—and it asserts the principle of intent-based parentage, a big win for LGBTQ and other families formed via assisted reproduction.
For Darra Gordon, her new role as CEO of Family Equality is “more of a calling than a choice.” She and her wife Nicole are raising three children, one of whom identifies as nonbinary. The work of Family Equality, the national organization for LGBTQ families, is therefore “incredibly, deeply personal to me,” she said in an interview.
The election of Donald Trump to a second term as president feels like a body blow. The danger of his policies to LGBTQ and other marginalized people is real. Nevertheless, there are actions LGBTQ parents can take now to protect and support our families—and there are a few things that are giving me hope.
In the wake of the election, I have seen a flood of questions online from LGBTQ parents about how to ensure that their child-parent relationships will be legally secure and recognized in every state. A guide that GLAD Law and I created answers frequently asked questions about exactly that.
