Lego Lesbians and a Cryo Tank
One in an occasional series of Lego lesbian mom tableaus. Have a funny cryo tank story? (I know some of you do.) Leave a comment or a link to your post about it!
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German Adoption Ruling Through the Eyes of a German Lesbian Mom
Germany’s highest court ruled Tuesday that same-sex partners may adopt children already adopted by their partners. Stephanie Gerlach, a lesbian mom living in Germany, who has been writing, researching and counseling in the field of lesbian and gay parenthood for over 20 years, sent me an e-mail explaining the ruling in the context of the broader situation for gay and lesbian couples in her country. She was kind enough to let me share it here.
Three’s Company: How Many Parents Make a Family?
A Florida judge has allowed three people—two lesbian moms and the man they asked to be their sperm donor—to be listed on the birth certificate of their toddler. And the Dutch justice ministry is about to commission a report examining the possibility of recognizing three parents or more for one child. For some of the parents involved, this expanded recognition is good news; for others, not. But although three-parent recognition may seem newfangled, it has been around for longer than you might think.
LGBT Parenting Roundup
Personal stories, political moves, and celebrity news I haven’t covered elsewhere (or that bear repeating).
Alan Cumming’s “Any Day Now” Shows the Power of Unintentional Families
Any Day Now, the new feature film starring Alan Cumming and Garret Dillahunt as a gay couple in the 1970s who foster a teenager with Down Syndrome, is a refreshing reminder that LGBT families have a long history of coming together in unexpected ways, against the odds. Other recent fictional portrayals of LGBT parenting have focused on upper-middle class families, deliberately becoming parents and secure in their parental rights. Not so here.
Of Family and Technology
Gina Trapani is best known as the founder of the Lifehacker blog, but also began a much more personal venture this year—her own family. She wrote recently about her and her wife’s path to parenthood in “How to Make a Baby” for The Magazine. When a piece begins, “Choosing a sperm donor is a little bit like setting up an Xbox avatar,” you know it’s worth a read.
Michigan House Committee Passes Bills to Deny Children Homes
Michigan has 14,000 children in foster care at any moment, over 5,000 of whom need homes because their biological parents’ rights have been terminated. A Michigan House committee, however, has passed two bills out of committee that would allow adoption agencies to deny an adoption placement based on the agency’s moral or religious beliefs. While agencies could use that to deny placements with many people, it’s pretty clear the main targets are LGBT people.
Post of the Week: “Non-Biological Perspective”
New mom A wrote this week at Two Mothers McGill about her “Non-Biological Perspective” before, during, and after the birth of her daughter with partner T. She gives voices to feelings I’ve heard from many nonbio moms—worrying if she will bond with their child, being hurt by others’ comments about how much the baby is like her partner, thinking about when their daughter will someday meet her donor. Even if you’ve experienced or read about similar sentiments before, however, you should go read her post for the eloquence with which she expresses them.
Nevada Marriage Ruling Insults All “Non-Traditional” Families
He probably doesn’t know it’s National Adoption Month. But when U.S. District Court Judge Robert C. Jones ruled that Nevada’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples did not violate the U.S. Constitution, he insulted not only same-sex couples, but also adoptive and single-parent families.
Florida Lesbian and Gay Adoptive Parents Tell Their Stories
How time flies. It’s been two years since Florida overturned its ban on gay men and lesbians adopting children. In that time, over 200 children have been adopted by gay or lesbian parents, according to the ACLU. Two hundred children! The ACLU led the legal fight against the ban, and recently created this video showing plaintiff Martin Gill and his sons, along with Vanessa and Melanie Alenier, another Florida couple who were fighting in court to adopt their son.