Minnie Bruce Pratt, an acclaimed poet, essayist, and activist who wrote, among other things, about losing custody of her children when she came out as a lesbian, died on July 4 of an aggressive brain tumor at age 76.
In a case with horrible implications for LGBTQ families, an Oklahoma judge has ruled that a married, nonbiological mom has no parental rights to the child she and her wife created and were raising together, but the couple’s sperm donor does. Here’s what happened, and what other same-sex couples need to do to protect their own families.
An Oklahoma judge has vacated her earlier decision that ordered a nongestational mother removed from her child’s birth certificate. This means the mom can stay on the birth certificate, but still does not guarantee her parental rights. It’s a case all queer parents should note carefully.
A divorce case playing out in Oklahoma offers a frightening reminder of why nonbiological/nongestational parents in same-sex couples need to get confirmatory adoptions, court orders, or equivalents, even if they are married and on their children’s birth certificates.
Two recent state supreme court rulings, in Alaska and Idaho, underline the wildly different requirements same-sex parents may face to prove their parenthood.
Lisa Miller, who was charged with kidnapping when she fled from the U.S. to Nicaragua with her 7-year-old daughter in 2009 rather than share child custody with her former partner, has returned to the U.S. and been arrested.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court not only ruled in favor of a nonbiological mother in a child custody case yesterday, but established guidelines for future cases, writing conclusively that “A non-biological same-sex parent stands in parity with a biological parent.”
Sharon Mattes, known as Sharon Bottoms when she fought to overcome anti-LGBTQ bias in a legal battle for custody of her son in the 1990s—a headline case for queer parents—has died at age 48.
I’m not sure what angers me more: the many child custody cases in which a biological mom tries to stop a nonbiological mom from seeing their children after a divorce or separation—or a case in which a nonbiological mom claims she’s not a mom so she doesn’t have to pay child support.
For your Friday enjoyment—a few stories from round and about on the adventure that is LGBTQ parenting.
Happy almost-weekend, all!
