On Tuesday, May 24th the California State Supreme Court heard three cases involving the rights of children born to lesbian parents. All three cases pose the question of whether both partners in a same-sex couple who use reproductive technology to have children together are legal parents, as they would be if the partners were married. In her argument before the Court, National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) Senior Staff Attorney, Courtney Joslin, argued that, "all children, not only those born to married or heterosexual parents, must have a legal right to support and care from both people who brought them into the world."

Joslin argued one of three cases currently pending before the Court. NCLR's client, Emily B., is seeking child support from her former partner for the twin children that they conceived and raised together prior to their separation. NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter argued on behalf of amici in the Kristine H. case, also before the Court. According to Joslin, much is at stake with the court's ruling: "The California Supreme Court's decision will decide whether these children will be protected, or whether we'll turn the clock back to the day when children born outside of marriage were punished for being 'illegitimate.'" Read more

Most California courts that have considered the issue thus far have ruled that only a birth parent or an adoptive parent has a legal relationship to the child. The state domestic partner law that took effect this year granted equal parental status to registered domestic partners, the majority of whom are same-sex couples. The law, however, does not apply to partners who had already broken up or to couples who have not registered with the state. Those two groups certainly outnumber the 27,000 couples who are now on the registry.

NCLR Website