Cases: Parents & Kids
Our communities are stronger and healthier when LGBT parents are fully recognized under the law, all parents can provide security for their families, and the law puts children's needs first.
A.E.H. v. M.R.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled unanimously September 28, 2012 that Massachusetts must recognize other states’ parallel spousal statuses for same-sex couples, such as California registered domestic partnerships. Under the ruling, both spouses are the… Read More →
Nolan v. Labree
Addressing the issue of parentage in gestational surrogate births for the first time, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court on May 3, 2012 ruled that District Courts have the authority under current law to determine who… Read More →
Doe v. Clenchy
Case Summary
GLAD is representing a transgender teen girl whose Orono, Maine elementary and middle schools removed her from the girls’ restroom because of her transgender status and forced her to use a staff-only,…
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Miller-Jenkins v. Miller-Jenkins
Update: On April 22, an arrest was made in the custody case involving former civil union partners Janet Jenkins and Lisa Miller, and their daughter, Isabella Miller-Jenkins. Lisa did not comply with a court order… Read More →
Raftopol v. Ramey
In a first-of-its kind decision, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled on Jan. 5, 2011 that a gay male couple who wanted to have children and used a gestational surrogate are the children’s legal parents, and… Read More →
Adoption of M.A. and R.A.
The Maine Law Court issued a unanimous decision on August 30, 2007 lifting the bar on unmarried couples adopting children.
As a result of the ruling, plaintiffs Ann Courtney and Marilyn Kirby were finally…
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T.F. v. B.L.
GLAD represented T.F., a biological mother seeking child support from her former partner, B.F. The two had decided together to have a child, with both agreeing to be parents and raise the child together. The… Read More →
C.E.W. v. D.E.W.
GLAD, along with Maine co-counsel, won the right to seek full parental rights and responsibilities for a non-biological lesbian mother in Maine whose former partner, the child’s biological mother, was seeking to terminate any legal… Read More →
Guardianship of I.H.
GLAD represented a committed lesbian couple from Kennebec County who jointly decided to have children together. They took all legal steps available to them to protect their relationship with each other and their son, executing… Read More →
Rubano v. DiCenzo
The Rhode Island Supreme Court ruled that a lesbian co-parent could bring a claim in Family Court to resolve issues of visitation rights with the child she had raised with her former partner, the biological… Read More →
In re Baby Z & An Act Concerning The Best Interest Of…
GLAD helped win second-parent adoption in Connecticut, through work in the courts and assistance to activists drafting legislation. In April 1998, GLAD filed an amicus brief in the Connecticut Supreme Court in a case known… Read More →
Doe and Doe v. Department of Social Services
GLAD negotiated an agreement with the Department of Social Services that it was an error for the Department to allow only HIV-positive children to be placed in foster care with an HIV-positive couple.
Read More →E.N.O. v. L.M.M.
In a landmark decision, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that a non-biological lesbian mother, who helped raise her son from his birth, is a de facto parent with the right to seek visitation. GLAD… Read More →