« They Were All Glassy Eyed... | Main | Not Only Does the Man Know Baseball... »

August 25, 2005

This Is Great

Until your partner runs off to Florida with your kid. Then you're screwed.

California court affirms gay parenting
...In California, the landmark decisions - which granted full parenthood to former partners despite the absence of legal adoption or, in two of the cases, a biological connection - have made the terrain a little clearer and solidified the direction in which many courts are moving: conferring the rights and responsibilities of parenthood based on intent and psychology rather than biology, adoption, or marriage.

But as the decisions have been lauded and decried across the country, they've also underlined the vastly different patchwork of how states handle the often-murky relationships at the nexus of reproductive technology and shifting family structures...

...At least nine states officially allow second-parent adoption - often sought by gay couples - and several confer visitation rights or have ordered child support from nonbiological or nonadoptive parents.

But the California cases are the first in which such individuals have been declared full legal parents, with the rights of, say, inheritance or social-security benefits.

Posted by tree hugging sister at August 25, 2005 12:04 PM

Comments

conferring the rights and responsibilities of parenthood based on intent and psychology rather than biology, adoption, or marriage.

Does this mean that men will be off the hook when they accidentally impregnate someone?

Posted by: nobrainer at August 25, 2005 12:17 PM

It's a can of words, my friend. Can o' worms.

But for guys, I doubt it. I know for a fact (in California) they can track your a$$ down 16+ years after the fact if she needs child support and you've never made an effort to pay any. Whether it was a whoops! or not. Your youknowwhat CAN'T 'accidentally' be youknowwhere, so impregnating is always a possibility and the guy's responsible. Different story with a turkey baster, test tube or adoption agency, n'est pas?

Posted by: tree hugging sister at August 25, 2005 12:27 PM

California actually doesn't care much whether it's the actual father or not, long as they can get someone on the hook.

Posted by: Ken Summers at August 25, 2005 04:30 PM

That's right, Ken. If you've failed to timely respond complaints alleging paternity, even a DNA test can't get you off the hook. You can have NO connection to the child at all, and yet still the judgment can't be rebutted, which strikes me as completely insane and an obvious denial of Due Process.

Posted by: Dave J at August 25, 2005 11:05 PM