Judicial Determination of Parentage Act of 2009”, a landmark piece
of legislation in the effort to ensure the recognition and
protection of diverse family constellations.
From the joint press release of the National Center for Lesbian
Rights (NCLR), Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington
(GLAA), and American University law professor Nancy Polikoff:
“The new law, which took effect on July 18, 2009, provides that
when a woman bears a child conceived by artificial insemination,
and her spouse or unmarried partner consents in writing to the
insemination, the consenting spouse or partner is a legal parent.
That person’s name will appear as a parent on the child’s birth
certificate. With the enactment of this measure, the District has
become the first jurisdiction in the country to enact a statute
specifically providing children born through artificial
insemination with two legal parents from the beginning even when
those parents are a same-sex or different-sex unmarried couple. A
similar law goes into effect January 1, 2010 in New Mexico. Such a
provision was recommended in a model law adopted by the American
Bar Association last year.
In a separate provision, the new law also establishes that when a
woman in a registered domestic partnership bears a child, her
domestic partner is the presumed parent of the child and the
partner’s name will appear on the child’s birth certificate. An
identical presumption is in effect in the nine other states that
currently allow same-sex couples to marry or enter into civil
unions or comprehensive domestic partnerships.”
We applaud our supporter, Nancy Polikoff, and our partners the
National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Gay and Lesbian
Activists Alliance on this historic victory!
To read the entire release click the link below.
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 principal sponsor of the measure known as Bill
18-66, the Domestic Partnership Judicial Determination of Parentage
Act of 2009.
The new law, which took effect on July 18, 2009, provides that when
a woman bears a child conceived by artificial insemination, and her
spouse or unmarried partner consents in writing to the
insemination, the consenting spouse or partner is a legal parent.
That person’s name will appear as a parent on the child’s birth
certificate. With the enactment of this measure, the District has
become the first jurisdiction in the country to enact a statute
specifically providing children born through artificial
insemination with two legal parents from the beginning even when
those parents are a same-sex or different-sex unmarried couple. A
similar law goes into effect January 1, 2010 in New Mexico. Such a
provision was recommended in a model law adopted by the American
Bar Association last year.
In a separate provision, the new law also establishes that when a
woman in a registered domestic partnership bears a child, her
domestic partner is the presumed parent of the child and the
partner’s name will appear on the child’s birth certificate. An
identical presumption is in effect in the nine other states that
currently allow same-sex couples to marry or enter into civil
unions or comprehensive domestic partnerships.
The Department of Vital Records is preparing a consent form that,
when signed by both women, will result in placing the names of both
parents on the child’s birth certificate.
Until now, a mother’s same-sex partner in the District of Columbia
could become a child’s parent only through the lengthy, and often
expensive, adoption process. The first such adoption was granted in
the District of Columbia in 1991. In 1995, the D.C. Court of
Appeals approved the practice. It also approved the ability of
same-sex couples to jointly adopt children. Numerous states allow
such adoptions, while a handful of states ban them.
“A mother should not have to adopt her own child,” said Nancy
Polikoff, Professor of Law at American University Washington
College of Law who helped draft the measure along with NCLR. “When
a heterosexual married couple uses artificial insemination to have
a child, the husband does not have to adopt the child born to his
wife. He is the child’s legal parent automatically. Now the child
of a lesbian couple will have the same economic and emotional
security accorded the children of heterosexual married couples who
use artificial insemination.”
“By establishing legal ties for families from the moment a child is
born, this law provides same-sex parents and their children with
much needed security and stability,” said Shannon Minter, NCLR’s
legal director. “The D.C. Council deserves enormous credit for its
leadership in updating the law to recognize the true diversity of
families in our nation’s capital.”
“GLAA thanks the members of the D.C. Council for their unanimous
support for this law to protect our families,” said Rick Rosendall,
Vice President for Political Affairs of the Gay and Lesbian
Activists Alliance. “We are especially grateful to Councilmember
Phil Mendelson for shepherding the bill through to passage and to
his staff for their meticulous work.”
Because the District bans surrogacy, this measure does not affect
the legal status of the partner or spouse of a gay man who has a
biological child born in another jurisdiction using a surrogate
mother. Under existing District law, the partner can adopt the
child. The partner may also have some legal rights and obligations
as the child’s de facto parent.
“This is an extremely important law for same-sex parents and their
families. It will go a long way towards establishing and protecting
the rights of children in the District of Columbia,” said Bob
Summersgill, a longtime lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
(LGBT) rights advocate who advocated for the bill. “I am sure that
it will be viewed as model legislation for the rest of the country.
I am very grateful for Councilmember Phil Mendelson’s hard work and
the dedication of his staff in perfecting a very complicated and
technical bill.”
“LGBT family law is complex, especially because the laws vary so
much from state to state,” said Professor Polikoff. “A same-sex
couple planning a child is always well advised to consult a
knowledgeable lawyer about how best to protect their family
unit.”
Councilmember Phil Mendelson was the principal sponsor of the
measure, which received unanimous support from all 13 members of
the D.C. Council from introduction through passage. Mayor Adrian
Fenty signed the measure in May. The law went into effect on July
18, 2009.
The National Center for Lesbian Rights is a national legal
organization committed to advancing the civil and human rights of
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their families
through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public
education.
http://www.nclrights.org/ <http://www.nclrights.org/> .
Professor Nancy Polikoff of the American University Washington
College of Law is a nationally-recognized family law expert who has
worked on gay and lesbian family law issues for more than 30 years.
She was the lawyer for the first second-parent adoption in the
District of Columbia 18 years ago and for the gay male couple in In
re M.M.D., the 1995 case that established the right of unmarried
gay and straight couples to jointly adoption children in D.C. A
prolific writer, she is the author of Beyond (Straight and Gay)
Marriage: Valuing All Families Under The Law (Beacon Press 2008)
and maintains a blog at
http://www.beyondstraightandgaymarriage.blogspot.com/
<http://www.beyondstraightandgaymarriage.blogspot.com/> .
The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance (GLAA) is a volunteer,
non-partisan, non-profit advocacy organization founded in 1971,
with a local Washington, D.C. focus. They are America’s oldest
continuously active organization devoted to gay, lesbian, bisexual,
and transgender civil rights.
http://www.glaa.org/ <http://www.glaa.org/> .
Media Contacts:
Calla Devlin
Director of Communications
National Center for Lesbian Rights
office: 415.392.6257 x324
mobile: 415.205.2420
cdevlin@nclrights.org <mailto:cdevlin@nclrights.org>
Nancy Polikoff
Professor of Law
American University Washington College of Law
202.274.4232
npoliko@wcl.american.edu
<mailto:npoliko@wcl.american.edu>
Rick Rosendall
Vice President for Political Affairs
Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance
P.O. Box 75265
Washington, DC 20013
202.667.5139
rick@glaa.org