An appeals court in Kentucky has ruled against a nonbiological mother seeking joint custody and visitation of the child she was raising with her former partner, even though a lower court had found both women to have equal parental rights. The women were unmarried—and the case raises troubling concerns for unmarried same-sex parents.
A simple, free form that gives both parents, regardless of gender, legal parentage of a child born to one of them, with the force of a court decree? Such a thing exists in a small but growing number of states, as the Associated Press recently reported. That’s terrific progress—but there’s still a long way to go before it’s a widespread option for securing parentage.
Lots of great family stories this time, plus a few other bits of news from round and about. Have a read!
Could you use some good news today out of our courts? I sure could. The Supreme Court of Hawaii on Friday upheld a lower court ruling that said a nonbiological mother is a parent to the child she and her former spouse had through assisted reproduction.
Vermont this week took a big step forward in protecting the relationships of all children with their parents, by enacting a new parentage law that is gender neutral and marital-status neutral, and clarifying the recognition of both biological and nonbiological relationships. What does this mean for second-parent adoptions, though?
A few victories to make your week!
And could a queer mom end up as prime minister of the U.K?
Let’s end this week on a good note! The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled yesterday that a nonbiological mother has the same rights as a biological one, overturning a lower court ruling that had given parental rights to her child’s anonymous sperm donor instead.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge have made an advance that could someday lead to same-sex couples being able to use both parents’ DNA to create their children. Cool—but let’s make sure not to use this as a reason to prioritize biological parents over nonbiological ones.
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.
I’ve written many times before about why second-parent adoptions are still a good idea, even if you are married and both parents are on the child’s birth certificate. Another case in the news this past week reminds us why.
