Lesbian parent adoption ‘not necessary’ for added protection
Court ruling could send mixed message to LGBT community
A married lesbian couple has a legally protected relationship to their son and does not require the added protection of a second parent adoption, a Brooklyn judge has ruled.
A.C. and M.M, as they are identified in court documents, are New York residents and were married in Connecticut in 2011. Although their right, as a lesbian couple, to marry was not codified in New York law at the time of their marriage, New York did recognize the validity of same-sex marriages legally preformed in other jurisdictions.
In 2013, M.M. gave birth to the couple’s son Sebastian, with A.C. also listed as a parent on the child’s birth certificate. Out of a concern of further solidifying her rights as Sebastian’s non-birth parent, A.C. filed a petition to adopt Sebastian — a petition deemed “neither necessary nor available” by Brooklyn Surrogate Margarita López Torres.