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LGBT parents

Press Release

New Law Protects Children Born to Same-Sex Parents in the District of Columbia

National Center for Lesbian Rights, Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, and Law Professor Nancy Polikoff applaud new legal protections for children (Washington, DC, July 22, 2009)—The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington (GLAA), and American University law professor Nancy Polikoff applaud the enactment of a new law to protect children born to same-sex parents in the District of Columbia. Councilmember Phil Mendelson was the...

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Press Release

Florida Court of Appeal Holds that Florida Must Honor Second-Parent Adoptions by Same-Sex Couples

(San Francisco, CA, May 13, 2009)—Today, the Florida Court of Appeal unanimously reversed a lower court ruling and held that Florida must give full faith and credit to adoptions granted to same-sex couples by other states, holding that Lara Embry, the plaintiff in the case, “must be given the same rights as any other adoptive parent in Florida.” The court based its decision on the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the federal constitution and a Florida statute requiring Florida to honor adoption...

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Press Release

California Supreme Court Unanimously Rules That Doctors Cannot Deny Treatment to Lesbian Patients

Justices reject attempt to create exception to California non-discrimination law (San Francisco, CA, August 18, 2008)—Today, the California Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling in Benitez v. North Coast Women’s Care Medical Group, declaring that the physicians of the North Coast Women’s Care Medical Group cannot deny medical treatment to individuals based on their sexual orientation. In 1999, North Coast Women’s Care Medical Group refused to provide fertility treatments to Guadalupe Benitez...

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Cases & Advocacy

Application of A.W.

L.W. and K.R. raised their child, A.W., together from the time that K.R. gave birth to him. After the couple split up, L.W. became the child’s sole caregiver. L.W. obtained a parentage judgment from a California court establishing that she is A.W.’s legal parent. L.W. is disabled and receives Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. The Social Security Act provides benefits for the children of people who receive SSDI, and L.W. applied for A.W. to receive benefits as...

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Cases & Advocacy

In re Parentage of L.B.

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...

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Cases & Advocacy

Davenport v. Little-Bowser

The ACLU of Virginia sued on behalf of four children adopted by same-sex couples after the Virginia Department of Vital Records refused to issue new birth certificates listing both of the children’s adoptive parents. The children were born in Virginia, but adopted by same-sex couples in the District of Columbia and New York. NCLR assisted Professor Joan Hollinger, one of the nation’s foremost scholars on adoption law, in filing an amicus brief supporting the children’s right...

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