Vermont upholds rights of non-biological mother

It’s a tale of two women who lived together as a couple for several years in Virginia before traveling to Vermont in 2000 to enter into a civil union. Their daughter was born in Virginia in 2002, after one woman was impregnated with sperm from an anonymous donor. The donor sperm was chosen by the woman’s partner.

When the baby was 4 months old, the women moved to Vermont, where they lived for about a year before separating. The biological mom and daughter moved back to Virginia, and the bio-mom had refused to let her ex-partner to see their daughter.

The civil union was dissolved and a Vermont judge decided to support parental role of both moms. And he might revisit his custody decision if the bio-mom interfered in the relationship between her ex-partner and her daughter.

A lawyer for one mother said the most significant fact about the judge’s order was how ordinary it was.

He said, ”These cases should be decided not with a gay exception, but with an eye toward what is in the best interests of the child.”

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Photo: WashingtonPost.com