Massachusetts Parentage

The Massachusetts Parentage Act (MPA) will update Massachusetts’ outdated parentage law so that it is clear, equitable, and provides legal protection for all families, including LGBTQ+ families.

The latest:

Tell your lawmakers to move the bill forward and get it passed this session!
Read our letter to the Judiciary Committee in response to the recent Supreme Court decision gutting reproductive rights.

Learn more about the Massachusetts Parentage Act:

Support for the MPA
Get involved and take action
Why we need the MPA
Recognizing all families
Family stories
Share your story
Media

Support for the MPA

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey: Office of the MA Attorney General
Boston City Council: City Council Supports Massachusetts Parentage Act
Boston Globe Editorial Board: Massachusetts lawmakers must protect the rights of LGBTQ and other parents
Massachusetts Lawyer’s Weekly: Legislature must act on surrogacy issues
The Massachusetts Parentage Act is supported by local families and these partner organizations:

supporter logos of MA Parentage Act

Get involved and take action

Tell your lawmakers to move the bill forward and get it passed this session!
Get updates, volunteer, or share your story: Join us and other MPA supporters!
Urge your legislators to support the MPA. Watch the video below and check out these tips:
- Find your legislators on the state legislature website.
- Check if they are on the Judiciary Committee. If so, you can contact Kate LeBlanc about how to ask your lawmaker to pass the bill out of Committee.
- Find out if your legislators are already co-sponsors. For your Senator, check S. 1133 (select the tab that says “Petitioners”). Do the same thing for your State Representative at H. 1714. If they are co-sponsors, email or call to thank them. If not, ask them to co-sponsor. Either way, please share why the MPA matters to you!
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Follow the Massachusetts Parentage Act Coalition on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram for updates and to share posts and help spread the word.
Show your support for the MPA – download the MPA Coalition badge and make it your social media profile picture.
Learn more about the need for parentage reform from Massachusetts families and check out the latest press coverage.
Download and share the MPA Fact Sheet and family stories.
Read the letter MPA Coalition’s letter to the Judiciary Committee.

Why we need to update Massachusetts parentage law

There are many paths to parenthood and many types of families in the Commonwealth, but Massachusetts statutes have not kept pace with modern science and the diversity of our families, leaving children vulnerable.

The Massachusetts Parentage Act (MPA) updates Massachusetts statutes to clarify who can be a parent and how to establish parentage. This bill (S. 1133/H. 1714) is critical to ensuring that all children can access the security of legal parentage, regardless of the circumstances of their birth.

This bill is based on the Uniform Parentage Act, which serves as a uniform framework for ensuring the protection of the relationship between parents and children. Originally passed in 1973 to protect children born to unmarried people, the Uniform Parentage Act was most recently revised and approved in 2017. Several of our neighboring states, including Vermont and Maine, have passed similar parentage legislation.

Learn more about the MPA and the need for updated parentage law in Massachusetts. Click here for a PDF version.

**Recognizing all families**

The MPA updates Massachusetts law so that it is constitutional, and it protects all children, regardless of the circumstances of their birth. Among other important protections, the MPA provides clarity on how to establish parentage for children born through assisted reproduction, surrogacy, and to same-sex parents who aren’t married. As the law stands now, children are not treated equally, with some having to wait six months or longer to establish their parent-child relationship. That is too long to wait and leaves children and families vulnerable.

Massachusetts families can’t wait any longer for equal access to family protections. Love makes families, and we need our laws to protect them.