Join Experts for a Free Briefing on LGBTQ Marriage and Family Protections
Do you have questions about LGBTQ marriage and family protections post-election? Join four leading LGBTQ organizations for a free briefing tomorrow, November 20, 2024!
Do you have questions about LGBTQ marriage and family protections post-election? Join four leading LGBTQ organizations for a free briefing tomorrow, November 20, 2024!
In the wake of the election, I have seen a flood of questions online from LGBTQ parents about how to ensure that their child-parent relationships will be legally secure and recognized in every state. A guide that GLAD Law and I created answers frequently asked questions about exactly that.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) has signed legislation updating the state’s parentage laws to be more equitable for LGBTQ parents and their children, families formed via assisted reproduction, and those with de facto or functional parents. “It’s a great, great day as we celebrate full parental equality,” she said at the signing ceremony Monday.
Terrific news from Massachusetts today! Just before 3 a.m. this morning, the legislature enacted the Massachusetts Parentage Act, updating state parentage laws to better protect the children of LGBTQ parents, those formed via assisted reproduction, and those with de facto or functional parents.
The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that a nongenetic mother is a legal parent to the children her same-sex former spouse gave birth to during their marriage. The decision affirmed that the best interests of a child, not just the genetic connection (or lack thereof) to a parent, must be considered in determining parentage.
The Massachusetts House unanimously passed critical legislation yesterday that would update the state’s parentage laws to better protect the children of LGBTQ parents and others regardless of the circumstances of their birth. Representatives spoke of how current laws shockingly fall short and urged passage of the bill for both personal and societal reasons.
As we head into Pride Month, I am moved once again to ponder all that I am proud of. My son tops the list, as always—but I am also proud of how we LGBTQ families and our allies have been able to keep pushing towards equality, despite an unprecedented amount of anti-LGBTQ legislation and rhetoric right now.
All children gain security and benefits from legal ties to their parents. Yet children with LGBTQ parents, and those born through assisted reproduction, lack clear and simple ways to establish legal parentage in many states. Two key advocates in Michigan’s successful recent effort to make parentage laws more equitable and inclusive shared advice with me that they hope will help other states do the same.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) has signed legislation updating the state’s parentage laws to reflect the many ways families are formed today and equally protect all of the children in them, including those with LGBTQ parents. At least three other states have similar legislation pending—though many others lag behind.
A North Carolina Appeals Court has ruled that a nonbiological mother, despite sharing custody of the child she and her former partner had via IVF, does not owe child support because she is not a legal parent and did not agree in writing to provide support.