Protecting

Would You Adopt Your Partner to Secure Her Rights?

A rare legal case in Maine is shedding an interesting light on questions of same-sex relationship recognition. Olive F. Watson had legally adopted her partner, Patricia A. Spado, in 1991, in order to ensure her financial security. Watson is daughter of former IBM CEO Thomas J. Watson, Jr., and granddaughter of the company’s founder, Thomas […]

Non-Bio Moms Lose One, Win Two—Maybe

Custody cases involving non-bio moms have been in the news lately, including this just in from Massachusetts: The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled Friday that a lesbian non-bio mom had no parental rights over the five-year-old daughter she and her former partner had agreed to raise together. The women separated before marriage was an option

New Jersey Ruling Solves Birth Certificate Question, but Raises More

The Advocate reports that “two women will be listed as parents on the birth certificate of a baby born this week in New Jersey, one of the first implications of a state supreme court ruling that gives same-sex couples access to the same rights as married couples.” This parentage decision, by a New Jersey family

Ontario Rules Lesbian Moms Can Both Be On Birth Record

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled yesterday that lesbian moms using anonymous donor sperm can both be registered as parents on their child’s birth record, without the non-bio mom needing to adopt. The judge gave the Ontario government 12 months to change the law. This may not be the last word on the matter,

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