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parental rights

Cases & Advocacy

Johnson v. SooHoo

Marilyn Johnson and Nancy SooHoo raised two children together while living in Minnesota. When the couple broke up, Johnson unilaterally cut off contact between SooHoo and the children. The Minnesota Supreme Court held in 2007 that SooHoo was a person “in loco parentis” who had a parent-child relationship with the children, and found that it was in the children’s best interest to have visitation with SooHoo, whom they called “mommy.” In 2008, Johnson moved the...

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Cases & Advocacy

Benitez v. North Coast Women’s Care Medical Group

Guadalupe “Lupita” Benitez was denied infertility treatment by her Southern California healthcare providers because she is a lesbian. The trial court rejected the doctors’ claim that they do not have to follow California’s anti-discrimination law because they have religious objections to serving lesbian patients. On December 5, 2005, the Court of Appeal reversed this decision and said that the doctors must be given an opportunity to demonstrate that their refusal to...

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Cases & Advocacy

Adoption.com

Represented by NCLR and the law firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, Michael and Rich Butler, a San Jose couple, filed a lawsuit challenging the discriminatory policies of the for-profit websites Adoption.com and ParentProfiles.com after these businesses refused to post their profile online solely because they are a same-sex couple. The defendants’ websites, Adoption.com and ParentProfiles.com, charge fees for posting profiles of potential adoptive parents. Using the websites,...

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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

B.F. v. T.D.

B.F. and T.D., a lesbian couple, were in a committed relationship for seven years. When their attempts to get pregnant were unsuccessful, the couple decided to adopt. Because the availability of second parent adoptions is unclear in Kentucky, only T.D. adopted the child. For the next six years, the couple raised their child together. After the couple separated, however, T.D. cut off all contact between B.F. and the child, forcing B.F. to file for visitation. Both the trial court and the...

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Cases & Advocacy

Angela G. v. D.W.

Angela G. and D.W., a lesbian couple, had a child together in 1998. After the couple separated, D.W. arbitrarily cut off all contact between Angela and the child, forcing Angela to file for custody. The trial court held that Angela was not a parent and had no right to any contact with the child. In June 2005, the California Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s decision and held that Angela is a parent and has the right to seek custody. NCLR represented Angela in her appeal.

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Cases & Advocacy

Kristine H. v. Lisa R.

Kristine H. and Lisa R. had a child together using alternative insemination. Before the child was born, they petitioned a court to issue an order declaring both women to be the child’s legal parents. When the couple separated a few years later, however, Kristine challenged Lisa’s parental status and tried to prevent her from having any right to custody or visitation. In August 2005, the California Supreme Court ruled that Kristine was barred from challenging the court’s order...

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