Georgia

The Georgia Supreme Court threw out a judge’s order that prohibited children in a divorce case from having contact with their father’s gay and lesbian friends.

The ruling is hailed by gay rights advocates who say the decision focuses on the needs of children instead of perpetuating a stigma on the basis of sexual orientation.

CNN.com profiles a family, from Dunaire, Georgia, who has suffered from school bullies. Eleven-year-old Jaheem Herrera hung himself, after he was perpetually called "gay" at school.

Jaheem's mom told CNN: "He used to say Mom they keep telling me this ... this gay word, this gay, gay, gay. I'm tired of hearing it, they're telling me the same thing over and over."

But while she says her son complained about the bullying, she had no idea how bad it had gotten.

Southern Voice Atlanta reports that lawmakers stripped an embryo creation bill of several clauses that could have made it more difficult for gays to create families before it was approved in a party line vote.

A proposed Georgia Senate bill [SB 169] would limit the number of embryos fertility clinics may implant in a woman. It is among the first legislation of its kind in the nation.

Sponsor Sen. Ralph Hudgens (R-Hull) said he proposed the bill after learning of Nadya Suleman’s decision to have multiple children through in-vitro fertilization when she already had six children and was on public assistance.

Well, welcome to our Friday Legal Updates (TGIF). We have quite a bit of news out there from this week, so enjoy each one, and please comment to your heart’s desire.

Wisconsin – Woman Charged with Unauthorized Adoption. A Missouri woman faces a felony child abduction charge in Wisconsin where she's accused of buying a baby from a couple for $6,000.

Theresa Erickson, family formation attorney and ProudParenting.com sponsor, shares a disturbing story from an attorney in Georgia.

The most recent blog post from Erickson Law:

"I read this post from an attorney in Georgia, who became involved when child support became an issue - yes, child support. This Surrogate is truly an angel, and let’s be glad these types of cases are rare. I just wanted to add this one to make everyone go - ouch….

A nightmare has ended for Elizabeth Hadaway and her daughter [pictured]. Hadaway was convicted of criminal contempt of court last year for not handing her daughter over to foster care after she lost custody solely because she's a lesbian. A year and one day after a county court judge sentenced Hadaway to 10 days in jail, the Georgia Court of Appeals today overturned her contempt conviction.