Margaret K. and Janice M. adopted a daughter during their committed relationship of 17 years. Because they adopted their daughter from India, which does not allow unmarried couples to adopt, only Janice adopted the child, but she and Margaret raised their daughter together. When their daughter was 7, Margaret and Janice separated and Janice refused to allow Margaret to see their daughter. An intermediate appellate court found that Margaret has a parent-child relationship with her daughter and...
Tag
lesbian custody dispute
Sue Ellen Carvin and Page Britain were in a committed relationship for 12 years. They had a child and raised her together for six years. After the couple separated, Britain cut off all contact between Carvin and the child. In November 2005, the Washington Supreme Court held that Carvin is a parent and is entitled to seek custody or visitation. Carvin was represented by the Northwest Women’s Law Center. NCLR, Lambda Legal, and Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere (COLAGE) filed an...
A lesbian couple, K.M. and E.G., had twins together through ovum-sharing, with an egg removed from K.M., fertilized in vitro, and implanted in her partner E.G. The couple raised the twins together for several years. When the couple separated, however, E.G. (the birth mother) refused to allow K.M. (the genetic mother) to see the children. In August 2005, the California Supreme Court ruled that both women were parents of the twins. NCLR, Lambda Legal, and other LGBTQ organizations filed an...