Adoption and Parenting

(Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, December 1, 2005) — In papers being filed today in United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, Lambda Legal seeks to strike down Oklahoma’s Adoption Invalidation Law, a law so extreme that it has the potential to make children adopted by same-sex couples in other states legal orphans when the families are in or dealing with officials from the state of Oklahoma.

(NEW YORK, December 18, 1998) -- Maryland's highest court Friday made an important ruling that the best interest of children with a lesbian or gay parent requires that the children have unrestricted contact with their gay parent unless evidence establishes that such contact causes demonstrable harm, said Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund.

(CHICAGO, December 16, 1998) -- Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund said that an Ohio appeals court Wednesday rejected a lesbian couple's request to allow a second-parent adoption, denying an eight-year-old girl the added protections of a second legally recognized parent.

(CHICAGO, November 9, 1998) An Ohio appellate court is set to consider its first lesbian second-parent adoption case, which could provide better protections for an eight-year-old girl and eventually for children of many other lesbian and gay parents, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund said Monday.

On Tuesday, November 10, the Ohio Court of Appeals will hear arguments in In re: Adoption of Jane Doe. Patricia Logue, managing attorney of Lambda's Midwest Regional Office, will argue on behalf of the mothers, "Trish Smith" and "Marcia Jones."

(Los Angeles, April 25, 2006) — Lambda Legal filed papers late yesterday with the California Supreme Court asking it to review a lower court decision that allowed doctors to refuse infertility treatment to lesbian patient Guadalupe Benitez, based on their religious beliefs. “Our client’s doctors’ behavior goes against established medical ethics and violates California civil rights law,” said Jennifer C. Pizer, Senior Counsel at Lambda Legal based in the organization’s Western Regional Office.

(San Francisco, September 20, 2006) — Lambda Legal submitted its opening brief today in the California Supreme Court seeking to reinstate a trial court decision that doctors must treat their lesbian patients like the rest of their patients, regardless of the doctors’ religious beliefs about gay people.

(Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, May 19, 2006) — In a 31-page decision, a federal court struck down an Oklahoma law so extreme that it would have had the potential to make children adopted by same-sex couples in other states legal orphans when the families are in Oklahoma.

(Atlanta, Georgia, September 28, 2006) — In a decision handed down yesterday, the Georgia Court of Appeals ruled that a parent’s custody or visitation rights cannot be limited just because that parent is gay or lesbian, and lives with their partner, when there is no adverse effect on the child.

“This is really great news for our client and gay and lesbian parents in Georgia,” said Jack Senterfitt, Senior Staff Attorney in Lambda Legal’s Southern Regional Office in Atlanta. “It means custody arrangements can’t be challenged just because a parent is gay or lesbian.”

(Denver, October 17, 2006) — In papers filed in court today, Lambda Legal argued that the U. S. Court of Appeals should affirm a lower court ruling that Oklahoma’s antigay Adoption Invalidation Law is unconstitutional.

(Denver, November 13, 2006) — The U. S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit heard oral arguments today in the appeal of Lambda Legal’s lawsuit that struck down Oklahoma’s antigay Adoption Invalidation Law.