Cases & Advocacy
Wilson v. Williams:
This case is about a married lesbian couple who used a known sperm donor to have a child. The couple raised the child together for more than two years. When the couple divorced, the sperm donor brought a lawsuit alleging that he—not the birth mother’s former spouse—is the child’s second legal parent.
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Edrington v. Sheridan Amicus
The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled on August 12, 2024 that the Ramsey County District Court should have dismissed a paternity action brought against a same-sex married couple by their sperm donor. Siding with mothers Julianna and Catherine Sheridan, the appellate court concluded that the lower court wrongly denied their motion to dismiss and that the sperm donor was precluded from bringing a paternity action for their child under Minnesota law.
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LGBTQ Legal, Advocacy Groups Urge Pennsylvania Supreme Court to Affirm Lesbian Mother’s Parental Status
Press & Media
On LGBTQ Families Day a New Report Calls for Updating State Parentage Laws to Protect Children and LGBTQ Families
Cases & Advocacy
Boe v. Marshall
On April 8, 2022, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed into law SB 184. The law directly targets transgender adolescents and their families by imposing criminal penalties on any individual, including parents and healthcare providers, who facilitate or provide essential medical care to transgender adolescents for the treatment of gender dysphoria.
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California Assembly Bill 2085
- Racial & Economic Justice > Race & Poverty
- Youth > Foster Care
- Relationships & Family > Reproductive Justice
- Relationships & Family > Parenting
Children of color are significantly more likely to be reported for allegations of abuse and neglect, despite the vast majority of those allegations being unfounded or unsubstantiated. LGBTQ parents of color are even more likely to lose custody of their children through the child welfare system. Even when families are not separated by the system, unnecessary investigation and surveillance of families by the system harms children by disrupting family dynamics and stability. Mandated reporters of possible child abuse and neglect are currently required to report families impacted by poverty. NCLR supports AB 2085, which would change the requirements for California mandated reporters of possible child neglect to reduce the number of families unnecessarily swept into the child welfare system simply based on poverty or bias.
MoreResources & Publications
Map of U.S. Surrogacy Laws
Press & Media
NCLR Relieved by Narrow SCOTUS Ruling in Fulton Allowing Governments to Prohibit Anti-LGBTQ Discrimination
Press & Media
Michigan Court Recognizes Same-Sex Parents Have Parental Rights
Cases & Advocacy
Matthews v. LeFever
- Relationships & Family
- Relationships & Family > Parenting
- Relationships & Family > Reproductive Justice
LaNesha Matthews and Kyresha LeFever were a same-sex couple who had twins together using assisted reproduction. The Michigan Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that LaNesha and Kyresha are both equal parents to their children and recognizing that a woman who gives birth to a child intending to be a parent is a parent regardless of genetic ties.
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