Ex-lesbian Ex-wife, Now Man, Ruled De Facto Parent

Brittany Conover gave birth to her son Jaxon Conover in 2010, who was conceived by artificial insemination without a legal father, and thereafter "married" her lesbian lover Michelle Conover, from whom she is now divorced.  However, last week, the Maryland Court of Appeals ruled that Michelle Conover, who now claims to be a transgender named Michael and is suing for visitation rights to Jaxon, is the child's "de facto" parent.

“Gays and lesbians are particularly 'ill-served by rigid definitions of parenthood'...When gay or lesbian relationships end, at least one member will find itself in a court system ill-prepared to recognize its existence and to formulate rules to resolve its disputes.”
-- Judge Sally D. Adkins wrote in the majority opinion

For background, read Judge Declares Deceased Lesbian Married to Lover

Also read Sperm Donor Must Support Lesbians' Child in Kansas

And read Creating Synthetic Humans: Secret Harvard Meeting

-- From "Maryland's highest court recognizes 'de facto' parents" by The Associated Press 7/9/16

Maryland's highest court has ruled an adult who is intimately connected to a child's upbringing is entitled to visitation and a share of custody, if the child's best interests are served.

The Court of Appeals decision overturns an eight-year-old ruling. In that decision, judges declined to grant de facto parental rights to unrelated individuals, unless they could prove exceptional circumstances.

The boy [Jaxon] was born six months before [the two women] married and 17 months before they divorced.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "In win for gay couples, Maryland high court recognizes ‘de facto’ parents’ rights" by Fenit Nirappil, Washington Post 7/8/16

De facto parents can include the partner of a lesbian who undergoes artificial insemination, a gay man whose partner adopts a child from a country that does not allow same-sex couples to jointly adopt, or a straight man who raises a child with a woman for years without formal adoption.

R. Martin Palmer Jr., an attorney for Brittany Conover, said the court usurped the role of lawmakers in defining a parent and may have created a situation in which stepfathers can take control of children from capable mothers.

“Seeking to serve the needs of the LGBT community has created a bad situation for traditional families and their children,” Palmer said.

Nancy Polikoff, a family-law professor at American University who studies LGBT issues, said the ruling does not address all issues nontraditional parents face, including what happens when parent split up before an artificially conceived child is born and whether the children of non-biological parents qualify for benefits after their death.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Maryland’s Highest Court Establishes ‘De Facto Parenthood’ in Lesbian Divorce and Custody Case" by Jeannette Richard, CNSNews.com 7/12/16

In the decision, the court established de facto parenthood for a person who formed a “parent-like” relationship with the child that “the biological or adoptive parent consented to and fostered,” provided that “the petitioner and the child lived together in the same household, that the petitioner assumed obligations of parenthood by taking significant responsibility for the child’s care, education and development, including contributing towards the child’s support, without expectation of financial compensation, and that the petitioner has been in a parental role for a length of time sufficient to have established with the child a bonded, dependent relationship parental in nature.”

Michelle/Michael filed a court request for visitation rights claiming that she had standing as a parent under Maryland’s definition of “father” for children of unmarried parents. Michelle still identified as a woman at that time.

In 2013, the circuit court ruled that “[Michelle] is in fact a female, had not adopted the child, and in no way was related to the child, thus not sufficiently establishing that she could be the ‘father’ of the child.”

The lower court ruled that Michelle did not have parental standing, but as a third party, must first show that Brittany was an unfit parent or that exceptional circumstances existed in order to claim visitation rights.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "The 'de facto' parent" an editorial by The Baltimore Sun 7/10/16

Since the issue of de facto parenting isn't addressed under existing statute, the court endorsed standards set forth under a Wisconsin Supreme Court decision: That the biological or adoptive parent consented to and fostered the third party's parent-like relationship, that they lived together in the same household, that the de facto parent took on significant responsibility for the child's care, education and development without expectation of financial reward, and the parental relationship lasted long enough for them to be bonded and the child to feel dependent.

Divorce and child custody decisions have always been a messy and difficult business with, as Judge Sally Adkins writes in the opinion, "grave implications for all parties." The case isn't resolved by the Court of Appeals ruling, only the legal standing of Michelle Conover who, according to a court filing, transitioned to living as a transgender man after the divorce. Now, the matter of visitation will be back in the hands of the lower court.

What constitutes a parent? Clearly, the answer to that question has evolved over time, and the law has failed to keep up with that social progress. . . .

To read the entire editorial above, CLICK HERE.

Also read Supreme Court Legalizes Sex With Animals in Canada

No to Lesbian Adoption: Supreme Court in Alabama

The Alabama Supreme Court overturned the Alabama family court decision to recognize a 2007 Georgia adoption of three children by the lesbian lover of their mother.  After the Alabama lesbian couple separated in 2011, the Jefferson County mother fought (in Alabama court) against visitation rights granted her former lover, claiming that the Georgia adoption was invalid because neither lesbian was ever a Georgia resident.

For background, read Alabama Supreme Court Says Ignore Federal Court — 'Gay Marriage'

-- From "Alabama Court Refuses to Recognize Lesbian Mother's Adoption" by Kim Chandler, Associated Press 9/18/15

The Alabama justices said a Georgia court was wrong to allow the adoptions, arguing that Georgia law doesn't allow such second-parent adoptions.

The Alabama justices said "Georgia law makes no provision for a non-spouse to adopt a child without first terminating the parental rights of the current parents."

The justices said since the children's biological mother maintained her parental rights, the Georgia court "was not empowered to enter the Georgia judgment declaring (her) to be an adoptive parent of the children."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Alabama court voids lesbian couple's Georgia adoption agreement" by Reuters Media 9/19/15

After breaking up in 2011, one woman in the relationship, referred to as V.L., filed a petition in Alabama in 2013 saying she was being denied parental rights by her former partner, referred to as E.L., the biological mother of the children.

In a seven-to-one decision, the court said "the Georgia court was not empowered to enter the Georgia judgment declaring V.L. to be an adoptive parent of the children. ... The Georgia judgment is accordingly void, and the full faith and credit clause does not require the courts of Alabama to recognize that judgment."

The lawyer for E.L., Randall Nichols, said via email that his client was pleased with the decision but regards it as a private family matter.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Alabama Supreme Court says state doesn't have to recognize lesbian adoption from Georgia" by Kent Faulk, The Birmingham News 9/18/15

Alabama has the authority to determine who may adopt based on the best interest of the child to be adopted, [Alabama Justice Tom] Parker wrote. "To this end, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has held that a state has a legitimate interest in encouraging a stable and nurturing environment for an adopted child by encouraging that the child be raised in the optimal family structure with both a father and a mother," he wrote.

The women had been in a long term relationship and had three children through artificial insemination. The non-biological mother, V.L., adopted the children in Georgia. The biological mother participated in that process and consented in to the adoptions.

When the parents later broke up, the biological mother, E.L., kept V.L. from seeing the children, according to V.L.'s attorneys. V.L. sought visitation in Alabama, where the family lives. E.L. opposed her request, arguing that the Georgia adoption was invalid in Alabama.

The case was first appealed to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals. That court ruled in October 2014 that the Jefferson County judge had erred when he granted V.L. visitation rights. But then that appeals court reversed itself in February. The case was then appealed to the Alabama Supreme Court.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Toddler to 'Own' 11 Future Children: An IVF Wonder

Through actions of a Dallas probate court, a two-year-old boy, whose parents were recently murdered, will inherit the frozen embryos that resulted from in-vitro fertilization procedures of his parents.  Once the toddler turns 18, he could thaw his siblings and arrange for their incubation in a woman of his choosing -- and perhaps adopt his brothers and sisters?  Of course, after age 18, he may simply choose to kill his embryonic siblings.

“When we treat human embryos, who should have all the rights of a human person, as property that can be inherited by a two-year-old, that puts us all at risk because human life has become a commodity.”
-- Dr. Marie Hilliard, The National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia

For background, read Frozen Embryo Custody Lawsuit to Set Precedent

In addition, read Donor Eggs & IVF 'Creates' Life, Causes More Death and also read Court OKs Obama Killing Embryos with Tax Dollars as well as Obama's FDA: Why not Three Biological Parents?

-- From "Two year Old Boy to Inherit 11 Frozen Embryos" by John A. Robertson, Law School, University of Texas at Austin, posted at Harvard Law Petrie-Flom Center 2/23/14

. . . A key point [of law] is that there are no Texas or United States cases involving inheritance of frozen embryos when both parties have died and left no instructions with the clinic or in a will. . . .

Without a contesting party who provided gametes, the main question under Texas law is whether the embryos were “property” that would pass under the intestacy statute.  Noting that no Texas court had held them to be “property,” the Master [in Chancery appointed by the Probate Court] also found that no Texas court had found them to be worthless. Since they can be the subject of an enforcible contract, the Master concluded that they have an implicit value under Texas law.  She recommended that if the probate court does not affirmatively rule that the embryos are property, it should follow the Davis v Davis decision that they have a quasi-property status “in the nature of an ownership interest” that is subject to probate orders for settlement or distribution of an estate.

It is refreshing to see a direct grappling with the charged term “property” for embryos.  The widespread reluctance to describe dispositional control of embryos as “property” arises from the fear that if so designated they would have no special status and could be treated like any object or thing. . . .

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Court Master: Two-Year-Old Orphan Should Inherit 11 Frozen Siblings" by Barbara Hollingsworth, CNSNews.com 2/25/14

The child’s parents, 40-year-old Yenenesh Abayneh Desta and his wife, 31-year-old Lemma Yayehyirad, who owned a popular Ethiopian restaurant in North Dallas, were gunned down on the front steps of their home in August 2012. . . .

“They wouldn’t be doing this if we had good and accurate laws to fall back on,” Jennifer Kimball Watson, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Culture of Life Foundation who specializes in eugenics in artificial reproductive technologies, told CNSNews.com.

By giving the frozen embryos to their two-year-old brother, Kimball Watson added, “the obvious attempt is not to gestate them, which leads one to believe that what the court is doing is awarding them as a form of property inheritance of the two-year-old.

Kimball Watson added that invitro fertilization (IVF) clinics “have no regard for the lives they bring into being.  They just want to make money on someone’s infertility….We would not have these problems with fetal farms and embryonic stem cell research were it not for the practice of IVF.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read Everyone Pays for 'Gay Fertility' Treatments in California

Donor Eggs & IVF 'Creates' Life, Causes More Death

Use of human donor eggs has nearly doubled in a decade, according to researchers at Emory University and the federal CDC as published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).  While thousands of human beings are being 'created' every year by a variety of unnatural methods, for every healthy person born of a donated egg, another is either killed or barely survives.

"Think forward. If we live in a world where kids are adopted and made with more reproductive technologies and with more parties involved, we will not fret about them quite as much. The kids will just think it's normal."
-- Arthur Caplan, a professor of bioethics at New York University's Langone Medical Center

For background, read IVF: 'Creating' Life & Aborting Life

UPDATE 3/15/15: Secret Designer Babies via Gene-editing Science

For  further background, read Lab Creates Human Life with 3 Biological Parents and also read Women Who Give Birth Live Longer and Healthier as well as Abortion Risks Later Pregnancies, U.S. Media Silent

In addition, read Human Egg Market Hot for Smart Babes as well as Frozen Embryo Custody Lawsuit to Set Precedent

-- From "More U.S. women using donor eggs to get pregnant, with increased success: study" The Associated Press 10/17/13

U.S. women are increasingly using donated eggs to get pregnant, with often good results, although the ideal outcome — a single baby born on time at a healthy weight — is still uncommon, a study found.

That ideal result occurred in about 1 out of 4 donor egg pregnancies in 2010, up from 19 percent a decade earlier, the study found.

Almost 56 percent resulted in a live birth in 2010, and though most of these were generally healthy babies, 37 percent were twins and many were born prematurely, at low birth weights. Less than 1 percent were triplets. Low birth weights are less than about 5½ pounds and babies born that small are at risk for complications including breathing problems, jaundice, feeding difficulties and eye problems.

For women who use in vitro fertilization and their own eggs, the live-birth rate varies by age and is highest — about 40 percent — among women younger than 35.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Donor egg cycles for IVF have increased, as have good outcomes for donor egg births" posted at Emory University News and Events 10/20/13

The researchers examined data at 443 clinics (93 percent of all U.S. fertility centers) and found the number of donor egg cycles performed increased from 10,801 in 2000 to 18,306 in 2010. An increasing trend was also seen in the percentage of cycles that involved frozen embryos (26.7 percent to 40.3 percent) and elective single-embryo transfers (vs. transfers of multiple embryos) (0.8 percent to 14.5 percent). Good perinatal outcomes increased from 18.5 percent to 24.4 percent. (Good perinatal outcome is defined as a single live-born infant delivered at 37 weeks or later weighing 5.5 pounds or more.)

Further studies are needed to understand the mechanisms underlying the factors associated with unsuccessful outcomes, according to the Emory researchers.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Donor Eggs Increasingly Used for IVF, With Rising Success" by Kathleen Doheny, HealthDay Reporter 10/17/13

Dr. Evan Myers, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Duke University School of Medicine, in Durham, N.C., wrote a journal editorial to accompany the study.

"This study confirms that donor eggs have a high success rate," Myers said. "In some ways it confirms what we already knew. The older you are, the harder it is to get pregnant."

The take-away message for women in IVF treatment, he said, is this: "If the chances of success with their own embryos are low, and if they are willing to consider donor eggs, the likelihood is good they will have a healthy baby." [Albeit, about a 50% chance.]

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Pregnancy With Donor Eggs: IVF Method Sees Rise In Popularity, Healthier Births" by Susan Scutti, Medical Daily 10/17/13

Throughout the span of years from 2000 to 2010, the researchers noted, the mean age of both donor and recipient remained stable at 28 years old and 41 years old, respectively.

[Donor] compensation ranges from $5,000 to $10,000, with first-time donors at the lower end of that pay scale. Egg donors commonly fall between the ages of 21 and 35 — apparently old enough to legally enter into a contract but young enough to respond well to fertility drugs.

. . . a donor will be hurled into a state of temporary menopause with possible side effects that include mild headaches, hot flashes, and fatigue. After this, a donor begins a new series of drug injections that provide follicle-stimulating hormones and ends with a final injection of HCG, a hormone that stimulates ovulation.

Finally, a donor is prepared for egg retrieval. This is performed vaginally; once the donor has been sedated, her eggs are removed with a needle guided by ultrasound in a procedure that takes about 20-30 minutes total.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "'Where did I come from?' Donor eggs, sperm and a surrogate" by Anndee Hochman, Philadelphia Inquirer 10/17/13

The story of conception is no longer a single narrative: woman, man, sex, baby. At its most complex, it can involve five individuals: a sperm donor, an egg donor, a gestational carrier, and the intended parents. Not to mention petri dishes, hormone injections, and a good reproductive endocrinologist.

And the number of differently conceived children is growing. No one tracks the use of donor sperm, but egg donation swelled by 18 percent between 2003 and 2011. In 2010, 58,727 babies conceived through assisted reproductive technology were born in the United States. That's a lot of kids eventually asking, "Where did I come from?"

The latest [way to explain his/her existence to such a child] is What Makes a Baby, a picture book published in May by sexuality educator Cory Silverberg. Illustrated with bright Keith Haring-esque figures (a blue egg and a yellow sperm dance together, each dressed in striped socks and high-top sneakers), the book explains conception for 3- to 7-year-olds without referring to family type or even the gender of the "grown-ups" who are making the baby.

Silverberg, who will give the keynote talk at Saturday's Philadelphia Family Pride conference, initially wrote the story for some friends - a family with a transgender (female-to-male) dad, his female partner, and their 4-year-old son.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read Everyone Pays for 'Gay Fertility' Treatments in California

In addition, read IVF: Women Living and Procreating Without Men

Michigan Marriage Amendment Unconstitutional?

A lesbian couple have been encouraged by a federal judge to challenge the Michigan constitution on the grounds that homosexual "marriage" is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. In 2004, the citizens of Michigan voted to amend their constitution to define marriage as one man and one woman.

Citizens of dozens of states have passed one-man-one-woman marriage amendments to their state constitutions explicitly to preclude judges from changing the definition of marriage. If federal judges rule against a marriage amendment of even one state, then only an amendment to the U.S. Constitution would allow any state to maintain traditional marriage.

For background, read There's No Right to Same-sex 'Marriage' Says Supreme Court Justice Scalia and also read ACLU Loses: Montana Marriage Amendment Holds in Court as well as Homosexual 'Marriage' Not Enough; Next Goal


-- From "Gay Hazel Park couple sues to unite their family" by Tammy Stables Battaglia, Detroit Free Press Staff Writer 9/8/12

[April] DeBoer and partner Jayne Rowse decided to take their battle in U.S. District Court in Detroit one step further Friday. They amended their complaint in front of Judge Bernard A. Friedman that asks for the right to adopt as a same-sex couple. Instead, they are challenging Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, Attorney General Bill Schuette and Oakland County Clerk Bill Bullard Jr. to declare Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage and partnerships unconstitutional.

Their lawyer Dana Nessel said . . . "We are the Mississippi of the gay civil-rights era here in Michigan."

Friedman has agreed to hold off on decisions on the women's first case until the state officials have time to respond to the newest evolution of the case, Stanyar said. The case could take years as it winds its way through the court system, possibly through the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court, she said.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Lesbian couple challenges Michigan's marriage law" by Christine Ferretti, The Detroit News 9/8/12

DeBoer and Rowse decided to amend their suit last week after U.S. District Judge Bernard A. Friedman called the marriage amendment the "underlying issue" during a motion hearing in which the state sought to have the second-parent adoption case tossed out.

DeBoer and Rowse argue the state's marriage amendment violates the equal protection and due process clauses of the U.S. Constitution.

Kary L. Moss, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, said in a statement that the group agrees with the challenge to the marriage amendment, which, the ACLU contends, violates the U.S. Constitution and harms families.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read 'Gay Marriage' Enables Polygamy Court Challenge

Homosexualists Use Children to Battle Christianity

As is obvious, normalization of homosexuality is impossible without legitimization of "gay families" -- that is, homosexual couples (soon to encompass polyamory as well) with children -- thus, the emphasis on children of "gay families" in the media.

Were it not for The Church, every perversion would be glorified in man's eyes. The effect of Christians on society is obvious; compare the secular European nations to (thus far) Christian America. Case in point: Former lesbian, now born again Christian, Lisa Miller and daughter.

For background, read Same-sex Household Count Tiny: U.S. Census and also read Gay-friendly Catholic School Criticized by Lesbian as well as White House Orders Redefinition of Family

-- From "Male Couples Face Pressure to Fill Cradles" by Rachel L. Swarns, New York Times 8/9/12

Tom Lotito and Matt Hay, both 26 . . . never imagined as teenagers that they would ever get married, much less that friends and family members would pester them about having children.

“It’s another way that I feel like what we have is valid in the eyes of other people,” said Mr. Hay, who married Mr. Lotito in June before 133 guests.

As lawmakers and courts expand the legal definition of the American family, same-sex couples are beginning to feel the same what-about-children pressure that heterosexual twosomes have long felt.

For some couples, it is another welcome sign of their increasing inclusion in the American mainstream.

Popular culture is helping . . . [as gay parenting is] becoming increasingly visible on network television. In “Modern Family” . . . In “Scandal,” a new ABC series . . . And this fall, a new NBC sitcom called “The New Normal” . . .

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

For background, read Vermont Judge Orders Child from Mother to Lesbian

From "Mennonite missionary testifies in Vermont custody case" by Wilson Ring, Associated Press 8/9/12

A Mennonite missionary in Nicaragua testified Thursday that he helped a woman embroiled in a Vermont custody dispute with her former lesbian partner flee the U.S. with her child . . .

Timothy Miller said in videotaped testimony that he knew Lisa Miller was fleeing the U.S. because of the custody battle but he believed at the time that she had full custody of her daughter Isabella. He said he picked the mother and child up when they arrived in Managua and arranged a place for them to live in Nicaragua.

Mennonite pastor Kenneth Miller is on trial on a federal charge of aiding in international kidnapping.

Prosecutors say Kenneth Miller helped Lisa Miller and Isabella, then 7, flee the country to avoid sharing custody with Janet Jenkins of Fair Haven. Timothy Miller was originally charged in the case, but the charges were dropped in exchange for his cooperation. The three Millers are not related.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Opposing Sides Preview Strategies in Kidnapping Trial" by Erik Eckholm, New York Times, 8/8/12

Some 50 members of an Amish-Mennonite sect filled half the federal district courtroom here Wednesday, arriving from several states to support Kenneth L. Miller, a pastor accused of abetting international parental kidnapping in a case involving same-sex marriage, conservative Christianity and a bitter custody battle.

The prosecutors, in their opening statement and in the first day of testimony, described a flurry of actions by Mr. Miller to help Ms. Miller flee and get shelter from his sect’s missionaries in Nicaragua. They also described a pattern of deceit that, they said, revealed Mr. Miller’s awareness that Ms. Miller was seeking to avoid court-ordered visits and the imminent transfer of primary custody to Ms. Jenkins by a family court judge in Vermont.

Mr. Miller told others that Nicaragua was the chosen destination because it does not have an extradition treaty with the United States, said Eugenia Cowles, an assistant United States attorney.

Federal officials believe that Ms. Miller and Isabella, now 10, are hiding in Nicaragua, helped by Christian supporters.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Pastor Involved in Lesbian Custody Battle Pleads Ignorance" by Anugrah Kumar, Christian Post Contributor 8/9/12

Kenneth Miller is charged with aiding international parental kidnapping, which can carry a maximum imprisonment of three years.

However, Kenneth Miller's lawyer, Joshua Autry, responded by saying he would prove that the pastor believed Lisa Miller had full custody of Isabella when she fled to Nicaragua via Canada. Addressing the jury, Autry added that their decision was not going to be a referendum for or against civil unions in the state. "It's going to be about whether, at the time of the removal, Janet Jenkins had parental rights."

Then ensued a battle over the custody of Isabella, who was conceived when the two women were living together in Virginia. Lisa Miller is her biological mother, and did not want her to be exposed to the homosexual lifestyle.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Pastor prosecuted for helping girl escape court-imposed lesbian ‘mother’" by Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, LifeSiteNews.com 8/10/12

At least two Mennonites who helped in the escape have decided to turn state’s evidence in the trial, testifying against Kenneth Miller, who has not cooperated with the prosecution.

Canadian pastor Ervin Horst has already testified for the prosecution, stating that he drove Lisa and Isabella to the Toronto airport from the Canadian border at Niagra Falls at the behest of Kenneth Miller.

While [Pastor Kenneth Miller] opposes homosexual “marriage,” he does not see it as the greatest threat to the institution, instead holding that “the greatest threat is a Christianity that has marginalized and compromised Jesus’ teaching on marriage. The teaching of Jesus as understood by the Church for the first 300 years of its history allowed for divorce or separation in rare cases, but remarriage was viewed as adultery.”

He prescribes a “radical repentance within Christianity” as the solution to the problem.

Miller’s supporters explain that “as a follower of Jesus, Ken could not ignore” Lisa Miller’s plea for help to escape Jenkins.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read Study: Gay Parenting Harms Kids - Media Frantic

Multitude of Kid's Legal Parents, Yet No Marriage

In the continuing effort to destroy any sense of family structure, new Gay Agenda legislation in California will allow any number of people to simultaneously be deemed legal parents of a child, even with none of them married to one another.

For background, read Sen. Leno's 'Teaching Gay History' Law for California and also read More Than Two Genders, California Kindergartners Taught as well as Study: Gay Parenting Harms Kids - Media Frantic



-- From "Bill would let children have more than 2 parents" by David Bienick, KCRA-TV3 7/2/12

The bill, SB 1476, was written by Sen. Mark Leno, a [proud homosexual] Democrat from San Francisco.

"SB 1476 amends California's parentage laws to provide that where more than two people meet the definition of a parent, the court may recognized more than two parents, if doing so is required to protect the best interests of the child," according to a summary provided by Leno's office.

Leno said the law would have limited application in California and is similar to legislation already present in three other states -- Delaware, Maine, Pennsylvania -- and the District of Columbia.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "California Bill Would Allow A Child More Than 2 Parents" posted at CBS Los Angeles 7/3/12

Current law allows a parent to be a man who signs a voluntary declaration of paternity, or a man who was married and living with a child’s mother, or who took a baby into his home and represented the child as his own, according to the [Sacramento] Bee.

SB 1476 would allow for a third person to take on the legal role of a parent in a variety of circumstances, including a lesbian couple and the child’s biological father or a divorced couple and a new spouse.

The bill stemmed from an appellate court case in 2011 involving a child’s biological mother, her same-sex partner and a man who had an affair with the biological mother . . .

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Children could have more than 2 parents under bill" by Hannah Dreier, Associated Press 7/2/12

Leno has characterized the bill as a response to America's evolving families. Married couples dropped below half of all American households for the first time in 2010, according to the Census Bureau.

Supporters cited several examples where the law could be applied, including a lesbian couple that conceived a child with the help of a sperm donor who has been involved as a parent, or a man who married a woman while she was pregnant with another man's child, who also maintained his role a father.

Opponents fear there could be no limit to the number of parents a child could have.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "California Bill Could Allow Multiple Parents" by Spencer Allan Brooks, WGGB-TV (Springfield, Mass.) 7/3/12

But why could this be needed? An example comes from one woman on Facebook, Karen Campbell. She writes, “My cousin’s kids have 3 people who are their parents: her, the useless jerk who refused to pay child support after the divorce, and the upstanding man who stepped in to support and raise someone else’s children. The man who paid their bills and loves them more than the bio-father has no legal parenthood rights, and in case of the mother’s death, would not get custody of the children he raised. What’s wrong with this picture?”

Here’s another example. A man is dating a woman who’s pregnant, then raises that child for at least seven years, but that child still has a relationship with its biological father. Three parents and the court could recognize all three.

Another example: a same-sex female couple asking a male friend to help them conceive. Then they decide all three would help raise that child: three parents.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Calif. Considers Allowing Multiple Parents for Children" by Stoyan Zaimov, Christian Post Reporter 7/4/12

"The bill brings California into the 21st century, recognizing that there are more than 'Ozzie and Harriet' families today," Leno shared in an interview.

The bill, which was sponsored by the University of San Diego School of Law's Children's Advocacy Institute and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, has already advanced through the State Senate but now needs an Assembly vote.

"We hear all this celebratory talk about 'new families,' but there is no sociological, psychological or medical data showing any of these new family forms have served to elevate the general physical, mental, educational or developmental well-being of children in any meaningful way," said Glenn T. Stanton, director of Global Family Formation Studies for the conservative group Focus on the Family.

"That job is best done for children by their own mother and father," he added. "And this bill would only take us farther down the trail of more 'experimental families' that fulfill adult desires, but consistently fail our children."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Ohio Court Upholds Parental Rights Over Lesbian's

Only one justice of the Ohio Supreme Court sided with the lesbian suing for custody rights of her ex-lover's child -- majority opinion ruled that non-legal emotional bonds do not trump parental rights.

-- From "'Co-parents' need formal agreement, justices rule" by David Eggert, The Columbus Dispatch 7/13/11

In a 4-3 decision yesterday, the justices upheld lower-court rulings that a Cincinnati woman did not agree to shared legal custody of her daughter, now 5, despite planning the in-vitro pregnancy with her partner and naming her a "co-parent" in power-of-attorney documents.

Biological mom Kelly Mullen voided those documents after she and Lucy, then 2, moved out of the house they shared with Michele Hobbs in 2007. Hobbs' name appears on the ceremonial birth certificate, and she helped raise and financially support Lucy.

In his majority opinion, Justice Robert R. Cupp pointed to evidence that Mullen intended to share custody and evidence that she did not. Using "co-parenting" terminology in legal documents is not the same as agreeing to permanently relinquish sole custody for shared parenting, he said.

Though the high court stopped short of requiring couples to sign a written contract changing custodial rights, it said that is the best way to protect their rights.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Court rules against lesbian 'co-parent' in custody fight" by Kimball Perry, Cincinnati.com 7/13/11

“Hobbs was a nonparent under Ohio law despite her active role in raising and caring for the child,” Justice Robert Cupp wrote in the majority opinion of the case that split 4-3 on the decision.

Giving Hobbs’ parental rights would open a floodgate of similar cases that would weaken parenting laws, noted Mathew Staver, dean of the Liberty University School of Law and founder and chairman of the Virginia-based Liberty Counsel.

While this specific case involved lesbians and was closely watched by gay rights advocates, it also was closely monitored by others who saw it potential impact on parent rights – or the lack of parental rights – of grandparents, step-parents or others raising a child who biologically isn’t theirs.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Ohio Lesbian Loses Bid For Shared Custody" by The Associated Press 7/12/11

Justices Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, Terrence O'Donnell and Judith Ann Lanzinger joined the majority. Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor, Yvette McGee Brown and Paul Pfeifer dissented.

O'Connor's opinion, joined by McGee Brown, said the court was wrong to accept the case in the first place because it established no new governing principle. One thing it did show, she said: Couples would be prudent to get custody arrangements in writing.

In his dissent, Pfeifer said Hobbs presented more than enough evidence to back up her claim.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Court says lesbian 'partner' lacks rights to child" by Bob Unruh, World Net Daily 7/12/11

However, as an indication of how far the concept has advanced that two men or two women should be called "married," a dissent by Justice Maureen O'Connor said, "The American family takes many forms, including those in which children are raised lovingly in homes headed by two fathers or two mothers …. Our evolving social and cultural notions of family and parenthood coincide with the advancement of reproductive science, medicine, and technology that now permit people to create families in ways quite different from the traditional paradigm in which children are born of one woman impregnated directly by one man."

She wrote, "As our understandings of the family evolve, so do our understandings of parenthood."

Justice Paul Pfeifer wrote a separate dissent, blasting his fellow justices and lamenting, "The law has not caught up to our culture, and this court has failed to craft a rule that addresses reality. Mullen and Hobbs employed a well-versed lawyer who represents people in their situation, and with his advice did all they could do to protect Hobbs. A maternal relationship existed between Hobbs and Lucy. Mullen taught her daughter to call another woman 'Momma' and to love her as a mother. She now wishes she hadn't, and for the majority, that's enough. It shouldn't be."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Frozen Embryo Custody Lawsuit to Set Precedent

Two couples in Kirkwood [Missouri] and California who had hoped to share frozen embryos to create an unusual extended family instead traded lawsuits . . . in a legal battle that tests the bounds of child custody law.

-- From "Couples wrangle over frozen embryos' fate" by Robert Patrick, St. Louis Post-Dispatch 4/9/2010

Both couples are suing the other for control of two frozen embryos currently stored in a California fertility clinic.

Their dispute raises ethical questions over the definition of family relationships and even the word that should be used for the transfer of embryos — adoption or donation.

The California couple who first created the embryos, Edward and Kerry Lambert, are suing to secure custody of the embryos from Jen and Patrick McLaughlin, a Kirkwood couple.

The Lamberts had signed a contract with the McLaughlins in February 2009, granting them four frozen embryos.

The McLaughlins used two of the embryos to give birth to twin girls earlier this year. Since then, the two families have feuded over the fate of the remaining two embryos.

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

UPDATE 5/14/10: "Families settle dispute over frozen embryos" by Nancy Cambria, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The announcement via press release Thursday failed to clarify which party had gained custody of the embryos, stating instead: "The [confidential] settlement provides that the disposition of the embryos will be in accordance with the original intent of the parties with the hope that the child or children born from the embryos will be raised with other siblings of the embryos."

. . . a dispute erupted in late February over the two of the remaining embryos when the Lamberts informed McLaughlin that they planned to exercise a clause in the donor contract allowing them to take back any remaining embryos after one year. McLaughlin, who believes life starts at conception, argued the embryos should remain with her and their siblings and had hopes of another successful pregnancy where she could keep all of the future siblings together. McLaughlin and her husband also have five adopted children, four of them from Russian orphanages.

"Regrettably, from a legal standpoint, we are still in a situation where we have no guidance for a situations like this. Day in, day out, people are dealing with fertility issues of this nature," [McLaughin's attorney, Al] Watkins said. "Our courts are ill-suited to deal with these situations, and that's a pity."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Vermont Judge Orders Child from Mother to Lesbian

The court ruling granted sole custody of a Christian girl to a lesbian ex-partner of the girl's mother.

UPDATE 8/17/12: Lesbian sues Thomas Road Baptist Church and Liberty University in custody debacle

UPDATE 8/12/12: Mennonite pastor on trial for helping mother & child escape lesbian's custody

UPDATE 4/24/11: Minister to testify in same-sex parent case

UPDATE 6/3/10: Mom and daughter flee U.S.

UPDATE 1/4/10: Lesbian Pursues Child Through Courts

UPDATE 1/2/10: Mother Defies Court Order

UPDATE 1/28/10: ABC News (Nightline) report

-- From "Judge grants nonbiological mom custody" by Anne D'Innocenzio, Associated Press Retail Writer 11/23/09

Family Court Judge William Cohen awarded custody of the 7-year-old to Janet Jenkins of Fair Haven . . . after finding the biological mother, Lisa Miller, in contempt of court earlier this year for denying Jenkins access to the girl.

Miller, who lives in Virginia and renounced homosexuality after the couple broke up in 2003, plans to appeal.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Lesbian awarded custody of Christian's only child" by Bob Unruh © 2009 WorldNetDaily 12/5/09

Mathew Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, told WND the recent order from the Vermont judge that Lisa Miller turn over her young daughter, Isabella, to the lesbian ex-partner, Janet Jenkins, on New Year's Day is being appealed.

In the interim, a separate court hearing on the dispute is scheduled to be heard in a Virginia court during this coming week.

Ultimately, he said, the issue probably will have to be resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court, because the case is being moved along parallel tracks in both Vermont, where Jenkins lives, and Virginia, where the Millers live.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Cross-dressing Woman Wants Custody as Father of Unrelated Child

Liberals claim that legalizing same-sex marriage will take the confusion out of such bizarre parental custody cases.

-- From "This transgender custody battle is odd, even for New York" by Scott Shifrel, New York Daily News Staff Writer 11/2/09

In an unusually tangled custody battle, a Brooklyn mom is fighting her ex - a woman who lives as a man - for custody of her 7-year-old son.

The Brooklyn judge who annulled their 1998 marriage because it was a legal fiction - they put the partner down as "male" on the license - has ruled that the boy's "father" may seek permanent custody, despite having no biological or legal ties to the child.

"When the judge gave him standing to sue for custody, I thought, 'What's happening? She voided the marriage, she knows he is a woman.' It's ludicrous," the boy's mother told the Daily News.

The convoluted case - which includes accusations of abuse - is complex even for New York State.

"The lack of a [same-sex marriage] law leads to confusion for many couples," said Cathy Marino-Thomas of Marriage Equity New York. "There's no doubt this case, no matter which side ultimately wins, will be appealed."

Melanie and Sam [not their real names] decided to become parents and Melanie was artificially inseminated.

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

Homosexuality and Contracting for Children

Absent natural procreation, homosexual relationships lead to a variety of convoluted "parenting"

Utah court ruling preserving traditional parental rights fuels the politically-correct drive toward same-sex marriage

-- From "Helpless, as ex rips boy away" by Rosemary Winters, The Salt Lake Tribune 7/10/2009

Gena Edvalson tried for years to be a mom. So when her partner of six years, Jana Dickson, became pregnant through artificial insemination and gave birth to a boy in March 2006, nothing brought her "instantly more joy."

And nothing brought Edvalson more pain than a recent court ruling depriving her of a chance to even visit the child.

But the two split up when the boy was 17 months old and last week, after a yearlong legal fight, Edvalson was cut off from any contact with the 3-year-old she loves as a son. A 3rd District judge, citing a 2008 Utah law, upheld Dickson's "fundamental" right, as the biological parent, to refuse visitation.

The case highlights the predicament of same-sex parents in Utah, a state where gay and lesbian couples cannot marry, adopt children or even expect their own contracts for shared parenting and guardianship to stand in court.

Such documents did not protect Edvalson, who signed co-parenting and co-guardianship agreements with Dickson near the time the baby was born.

Her advice for other same-sex couples: Don't have kids unless you have the legal protection of an adoption (something you cannot get in Utah).

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Contract or not, lesbian can't be 'mommy'" by Drew Zahn © 2009 WorldNetDaily 7/11/09

In 2006, Gena-Louise Edvalson entered into a "contract" with her lover, Jana Dickson, to co-parent her partner's newborn son. But after the relationship ended, Edvalson sued Dickson, who is now married to a man, demanding the mother honor the contract and grant her former partner parental standing in the boy's life.

Judge Leon Anthony Dever of Utah's Third District Court, however, voided the contract and dismissed the lawsuit, arguing "parents retain the fundamental right to exercise the primary control over the care and supervision of their children."

"The fundamental rights of parents to raise children the way they see fit should not be threatened by the wishes and desires of a legal stranger," said [Frank D. Mylar, Alliance Defense Fund] in a statement. "The court correctly ruled that this little boy's right to his mother under state law is of far greater value than the wishes of someone who has no legal relationship to the child."

The judge's ruling came in spite of the "parenting plan" for co-guardianship that the two women had signed.

Judge Dever [wrote], "The Utah Supreme Court has held that contracts that offend public policy are void. ... Therefore, while people are generally free to bind themselves to any contract, those contracts which are contrary to public policy are illegal."

Mylar explained, "There has always been a legal concept that certain contracts are illegal and void, where no court will be party to enforcing such an agreement. If a person had a contract, for example, to conduct illegal activity, the contract is void. He or she shouldn't be held to it.

"Since both Utah law and the U.S. Constitution clearly protect the rights of parents to raise their children as they see fit," Mylar told WND, "it stands that you can't just 'bargain away' those constitutionally protected parental rights, because to be able to do so is not in the best interest of the child."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

High Court: Exposing Kids to Homosexual Behavior OK

Normalization of homosexuality forces Georgia Supreme Court to overturn post-divorce ruling restricting father's homosexual activities during visitations with children

-- From "Kids to meet gay dad’s partner on Father’s Day" Associated Press 6/20/09

The [restrictions on the father] stemmed from the bitter divorce between [Eric] Mongerson and his ex-wife, Sandy, who were married for almost 20 years and had four children. Mongerson said the marriage ended when his wife discovered he was gay in November 2005, but he would not elaborate.

The dispute played out the next few years in court, as Sandy's attorney claimed he had several affairs with other men and subjected the kids to an array of "wholly inappropriate conduct" during a trip to Arkansas.

The arguments helped sway Fayette County Superior Court Judge Christopher Edwards to award Sandy Kay Ehlers Mongerson custody of the children. The judge also issued a blanket order banning Eric Mongerson from "exposing the children to his homosexual partners and friends." A fourth child is an adult over 18 and had no restrictions on contact with Mongerson or his gay friends.

Edwards said in his ruling that the decision was meant to reflect "the trauma inflicted upon the children" during the Arkansas trip.

In court arguments in January, attorneys Hannibal Heredia and Kimberli Reagin contended the judge had no evidence that exposing the children to Mongerson's gay friends would damage them.

On Monday, the Georgia Supreme Court unanimously agreed. Justice Robert Benham wrote in the scathing 10-page ruling that the trial court abused its discretion without evidence of harm to the children. He concluded it "flies in the face of our public policy that encourages divorced parents to participate in the raising of their children."

The decision was quickly applauded by gay rights advocates who say the judge's order was rooted in decades-old misconceptions about gays and lesbians.

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

The Demise of Family Gets Complicated

In Tennessee, a divorced woman with custody of her child is restricted, by the court, from having any lover stay the night -- in this case, a lesbian

-- From "Divorced Tenn. mother appeals night ban on partner" Associate Press 12/24/08

A same-sex couple is asking the Tennessee Court of Appeals to lift a judge's restriction in a child custody agreement that prevents the divorced mother's partner of nine years from staying overnight.

The Tennessean reports The American Civil Liberties Union filed a brief Tuesday with the Court of Appeals in Jackson on behalf of Angel Chandler, a divorced mother with two kids.

"This decision has been disruptive to our family," Chandler said. "We lived together in a stable, functioning family, and this was rather shocking to all of us. This is about the person we choose to be with. The judge decided to interfere, and it's had a very negative affect in our lives."

ACLU spokesman Paul Cates said the clause primarily affects lesbians and gays with children because same-sex civil unions are not recognized in Tennessee. Heterosexual couples can circumvent the [restriction] by getting married, Cates said.

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

Montana Judge Awards Parental Rights to Former Lesbian Roommate

Saga yields warning to whom you let sleep in your bed, lest your sexual relationship be deemed a legal one, and your bunkmate walk out with your children

-- From "Same-Sex Partner Awarded Parental Rights to Adopted Kids" by Staff, Associated Press 9/30/08

Missoula, Mont. (AP) - A judge ruled in favor of a woman who sought parental rights to a boy and girl adopted by her former same-sex partner, a decision described as a first for Montana.

Michelle Kulstad sought joint custody of two children - an 8-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl - adopted by Barbara Maniaci. In his ruling Monday, District Judge Ed McLean agreed.

"To discriminate further against Ms. Kulstad because of her sexual preference in this day and age is no different than telling a person to go to the back of the bus because of her skin color," McLean wrote.

Attorneys for both sides have said the same-sex parental rights trial was a first for the state, whose voters in 2004 rejected same-sex marriage by about a 2-to-1 margin.

McLean said Kulstad was a legal parent, even though Maniaci adopted the children - the boy in 2004 and the girl in 2006. The judge said Kulstad must receive joint decision-making authority in the children's lives, including their health care and spiritual upbringing.

Kulstad and Maniaci lived together in the Missoula area for 10 years, raising the children in tandem before ending the relationship in 2006, according to evidence presented at the non-jury trial in May.

Maniaci, who is now married, argued that she and her husband should be able to raise the children as they see fit. She said Kulstad was neither their adoptive parent nor a biological relative.

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

You're Not My Mommy!

Against the true mother's wishes, a court in Vermont court gives visitation rights to a lesbian who is related to a child by neither birth nor adoption.

From "You're not my mommy!" by J. Matt Barber, posted 8/2/07 at Worldnetdaily.com

By her own account, emotional problems brought on by a series of events – including abandonment by her father, abuse by her mentally ill mother and a decade-long struggle with alcoholism now overcome – eventually led Lisa Miller into the lesbian lifestyle. In 1999, Lisa began a homosexual relationship with Jenkins after coming out of a legitimate marriage that ended in divorce.

In 2000, soon after Vermont became the first state to legalize homosexual "civil unions," Miller and Jenkins made a weekend trek from Virginia to Vermont to enter into such a "union." They then headed back to Virginia where they lived together.

In 2001, Lisa was artificially inseminated after the two decided to raise a child in an unnatural, deliberately fatherless home environment as self-deluded "wife" and "wife" – mother and "mother."

About a year later, when Isabella was less than a year and a half old, Lisa ended her lesbian relationship, took her daughter back home to Virginia and filed for dissolution of her homosexual "civil union" back in Vermont.

And that's when the nightmare really began.

Although Jenkins had no parental connection to Isabella (she was neither an adoptive parent, nor biologically related) she filed papers in Vermont in 2003 to try to take Isabella from her mother. Even though the child was conceived, born and living in Virginia, the Vermont court nonetheless held that it had jurisdiction. The legal battle has continued since that time, and incredibly, the court recently ruled that Jenkins possessed parental rights over Lisa's daughter. It granted Jenkins regular and very liberal visitation. Isabella is now required to make the several hundred mile roundtrip journey from Virginia to Vermont every other week to visit a total stranger (Jenkins) who, according to reports, outrageously forces the confused and traumatized little girl to call her "momma."

Where will the insanity end?

Read the rest of this story.

Mainstream Media Decides Not to Report Triple Parenting Decision

From "Ma, Pa and Ma in Pennsylvania" by Stanley Kurtz, posted 5/7/07 at nationalreviewonline.com

..."Conservative" advocates of same-sex marriage have downplayed the influence of pro-triple-parenting radicals, denying that we will ever see a grass-roots movement powerful enough to precipitate legal recognition of this dramatic change in family practice. Against this, I’ve argued that a pro-triple-parenting movement is already visible, and is simply waiting for national same-sex marriage to be approved before emerging in force. (See The Confession and The Confession II.)

Well, it now appears that we may not have to wait for a new national movement of family radicals. Gay marriage is apparently already serving as a springboard for the dissolution of our traditional family arrangements. Just a week ago, almost completely under the radar (I can’t find a single story on nexis), a Pennsylvania court awarded triple parenting status to a lesbian couple and a male sperm donor, without any legislative basis. Here is further coverage (vertigo alert on this one) and here is the decision.

...Where is media coverage of the Pennsylvania decision? Gil Scott Heron had a song called "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised." Apparently, the family revolution in Pennsylvania will not be publicized.

Read the rest of this commentary.

Pennsylvania Court Finds Three Adults Can Have Parental Rights

From "Deceased Sperm Donor Held Liable For Child Support" by , posted 5/11/07 at Lancasteronline.com

A unanimous panel of the Pennsylvania Superior Court, an intermediate appellate court, ruled on April 30 in Jacob v. Shultz-Jacob, 2007 Westlaw 1240885, 2007 PA Super 118, that a child may have three parents, in this case a former lesbian couple and the man who donated sperm so they could have some children. The unusual ruling is not based on Pennsylvania family law statutes, but instead on judge-made doctrine of "equitable estoppel," which has occasionally been used to in the past to enforce child support obligations against persons who are not legal parents.

According to the opinion for the court by Senior Judge John T. Kelly, Jr., Jodilynn Jacob and Jennifer Schultz lived together in York County, Pennsylvania, for about six years beginning in 1996. During that time, they had a commitment ceremony in Pittsburgh, and formed a civil union in Vermont, Jennifer taking the last name Schultz-Jacob. Jodilynn had two young nephews whom she had adopted, and she was the birth mother of two other children, conceived through donor insemination. The sperm donor was Carl Frampton, a long-time friend of Jennifer.

In February 2006, several months after the women had decided that their partnership was at an end, Jodilynn relocated with the four children to Dauphin County, and soon thereafter, Jennifer filed a lawsuit, naming Jodilynn and Carl as defendants, in York County Court, seeking legal and physical custody of the four children. The court made a temporary award of primary custody to Jodilynn while the case was pending, with partial custody (visitation) for Jennifer and Carl (for the two children who were his biological offspring).

Shortly after this, however, some trouble arose with one of the nephews, some unresolved delinquency charges that he had committed an "indecent assault" against one of the younger children, and he was sent to live with Jennifer, with Jodilynn providing money for his expenses. The Dauphin County Court directed that "at no point in time are the parties to exercise custody of [the nephew] and [the younger child] at the same time." Then, after a hearing last August where the court received expert testimony from a child psychologist, the court gave Jennifer primary custody of the one nephew who was living with her, and partial custody (visitation rights) with the other three children; Jodilynn got primary custody of the three children and partial custody (visitation) with the one nephew, and Carl was awarded partial custody (visitation) of one weekend a month with his two children. Jennifer appealed this ruling, claiming that according to the expert’s opinion, she should have primary custody of the children.

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