And Baby Makes Four
Offline (Cross-posting from my blogs)
By MARIANNE MEED WARDDo three parents and a baby make a family? Yes, according to a decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal last week in a case involving a lesbian couple, their 5-year-old son, and the boy's biological father.
The lesbian partner of the child's biological mother had gone to court with the blessing of both mother and biological father, seeking equal legal status as a parent. Among other things, this would give her legal decision-making over the child in schooling, health decisions and other matters.
The decision was the right one, regardless of your views of homosexuality or family structure. But predictably, faith-based groups who oppose homosexuality on religious grounds were active in opposing giving rights to the third parent. A coalition of five such groups formed the Alliance for Marriage and Family to intervene in this case. Coalition members -- the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, REAL Women Canada, Focus on the Family Canada, the Catholic Civil Rights League, and the Christian Legal Fellowship -- greeted last week's decision with the usual dire warnings that follow any legal change in the structure of the family.
This is why I'm proud to be Canadian. The courts recognize that the only reasons to deny equal parental rights are religious, and religion has no place in Law. It does sadden me a bit, though, to know that we have at least FIVE different religious organizations actively oppsosing rulings like this. But I guess it doesn't matter where you live, there will always be some religious nutbars trying to control everyone else's lives.
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Kudos to the Canadians. Again!
I'm curious, though, about the law in the US. Surely the courts in the U.S. recognize step-parents in which case a child would have FOUR parents of legal standing.
For instance, a man is coaching his step-child's baseball team. The child is injured and has to be taken to the emergency room. Would the trauma team treat the child on the man's consent or would they have to wait for a biological parent?
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Step parents can sign. They have authority, but they do not have authority over the biological parent. If the biological parents die, the step-parent holds guardianship.
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Wow! I thought it was only a myth...
Seperation of church and state does exist!!!!!
We should have put something like that in the U.S. constitution!
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