Canada

Fallout continues in response to Canada's detrimental legislation known as the Assisted Human Reproduction Act - enacted in 2004. The prohibition has forced prospective gay and lesbian parents to ship sperm and fly egg donors from the U.S., and pay egg donors through U.S. agencies.

From The Lawyers Weekly:

CBC News reports that openly gay politician - George Smitherman - is adopting a baby boy.

He and his husband Christopher Peloso's attempt to adopt was approved in principle by the Toronto Children's Aid Society.

"Christopher and I are very proud to share the news," he said in a release.

A woman told an Ontario court Wednesday that a man yelling gay slurs punched her partner until her face "burst open."

Mark Scott of Oshawa, Ont., is facing two counts of assault causing bodily harm after the couple was attacked outside of their children's elementary school.

The 44-year-old has pleaded not guilty in the November 2008 beating.

Anji Dimitriou said Scott called her and Jane Currie "dyke bitches".

The Canadian Film and Television Production Association has voted Fatherhood Dreams one of the top five Canadian documentaries of 2008. The documentary follows four gay men as they explore different options to attain their journey toward parenthood - Randy and Drew turn to adoption, Stephen co-parents his two daughters with a lesbian couple, and Scott prepares for the arrival of his twins through surrogacy.

The AP reports that gay marriages performed outside New Jersey are recognized in the state for the purpose of divorce, according to a ruling Friday by a judge deciding whether a lesbian couple married in Canada can split.

State Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson said in an oral ruling that New Jersey, which doesn't allow gays to marry, has a long history of recognizing marriages that are valid where they were performed.

National Post reports on a "precedent-setting court ruling" in Canada. For the first time in Canada a court has ruled on the legitimacy of a donor contract in determining the competing parental rights of a lesbian couple and a gay man who was the sperm donor.

NP writes that the court ruling could open the door for a child to have three or four recognized parents in "known donor" situations.

BurlingtonPost.com says Yo Mustafa and Paul Groulx "went from zero to three children in a matter of six months". The couple, which has been together since 1989, now cares for three boys including a 13-year old and 11-year-old twins.

Mustafa and Grouix started their adoption journey in July 2003 by attending an Adoption Council of Ontario information evening.