Parenting Studies “How Does the Gender of Parents Matter?” asks the lead article in this month’s Journal of Marriage and Family. The answer, from sociologists Timothy Biblarz of University of Southern California and Judith Stacey of New York University, is that it doesn’t, with the “partial exception of lactation.” The gender of parents “has minor […]
(I originally wrote this as my end-of-year newspaper column a few weeks ago. The Jenkins-Miller case has seen some action since that time. The rest, I hope, is a good look back before we move forward.) “Whether children are raised by two parents, a single parent, grandparents, a same-sex couple, or a guardian, families encourage
You’ve heard the story before (and before that). A lesbian couple splits up. The biological mother tries to deny custody to the non-biological mother. They go to court. (In the case of Janet Jenkins and Lisa Miller, they did so for years, with disastrous results when the bio mom flouted court orders and went into
Politics and Law The government of New South Wales, Australia, has refused to change the law and allow same-sex couples to adopt, despite a six-month parliamentary inquiry that found doing so would be in the best interests of children. It says the issue is “too complex and sensitive” and there is not enough community support.
The long-running custody dispute between Janet Jenkins and her former partner Lisa Miller made headlines again this week. I’ve written an article about it for Keen News Service, trying not only to cover this week’s actions but also to put it in the context of related cases. Keen News Service is a news organization run
“Ex-gay” mom Lisa Miller has failed to show up at her ex-partner Janet Jenkins’ parents’ home in Falls Church, Virginia, to transfer custody of their seven-year-old daughter Isabella as ordered by a Vermont court. The couple had a civil union in Vermont before having their daughter, and although the girl was born in Virginia, the
Who were the LGBT parents who made headlines this year in mainstream or LGBT news? Here are my top individuals or couples, in alphabetic (not rank) order. Please make your own additions in the comments—I realize I’m heavy on lesbian moms and light in other parts of the community (and on non-U.S. names).
Lisa Miller, the “ex-lesbian” mom who has been waging a lengthy custody battle with her former partner, Janet Jenkins, over their daughter Isabella, “has ceased contact with her attorneys and disappeared with (Isabella),” according to Vermont Judge William Cohen in the Times-Argus. (Thanks, Right Wing Watch.) In November, Judge Cohen granted sole custody of 7-year-old
Here’s a quick roundup before everyone takes off for the holiday: Politics and Law Nancy Polikoff offers her expert analysis of the decision this week in the Jenkins-Miller custody case I mentioned Saturday. Nancy has read through the ruling (she’s a lawyer, and has access to this sort of thing before us mere mortals), and
In what the Vermont Rutland Herald is calling “a first-of-its kind parent custody change,” Judge William Cohen of the Rutland Family Court yesterday granted sole custody of 7-year-old Isabella Miller to her non-biological mother, Janet Jenkins. Jenkins has been fighting her former partner Lisa Miller for visitation for years now. Miller says she is no
