Law and Family Formation Among LGBQ‐Parent Families

Abstract

This article addresses how the law affects family formation among families with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) parents in the United States. Our discussion draws on a socio‐legal approach to law that focuses not only on the law on the books (what we refer to as “legal barriers”) but also on issues like how the law is practiced, how people experience the law in everyday life, and how the law serves as an interpretive framework through which people understand themselves and their families (what we refer to as “social barriers”). In our review, we highlight how attorneys can play a role in valuing and advancing rights for LGBQ‐parent families and LGBTQ prospective parents.

Understanding Parenting Intentions Among Childfree Gay Men: A Comparison With Lesbian Women and Heterosexual Men and Women

“…This discrepancy might support the premise of this study that there is a conceptual difference between having or not having parenting intentions. Given the experienced barriers to becoming parents (Baiocco et al, 2012;Kazyak et al, 2018;Smietana, 2018), it is plausible that gay men do not convert their desire to have a child into parenting intentions as often as heterosexual men do. Although, once gay men plan to have children, they seem to have experienced a change in their procreative consciousness and see opportunities to overcome barriers and to fulfill their desire to have children (Smietana, 2018).…”

“…These findings might reflect the well-developed gay identity, along with a future parent identity of the gay men in this study with all having intentions to become parents in the future. Gay men who plan parenthood have to deal with hardships like biological (Mezey, 2013), financial (Smietana, 2018), legal barriers (Kazyak et al, 2018), and internalized and externalized stigmas because they belong to a sexual minority status and challenge traditional parenting patterns (e.g., Goldberg et al, 2012;Carneiro et al, 2017). In facing these hardships, gay men who intend to become fathers generally lack a role model of a father being gay and being the primary caregiver, coping with similar hardships (Gianino, 2008).…”

“…Becoming a parent is a universal desire for many young people (Purewal and Van den Akker, 2007), however, parenthood is not always possible for sexual minority people, especially gay men. Gay men who want to become parents experience a number of legal (Kazyak et al, 2018) and financial barriers (Smietana, 2018), along with greater experiences of stigmatization (e.g., Berkowitz and Marsiglio, 2007;Baiocco et al, 2012;Goldberg et al, 2012;Carone et al, 2017). In addition, gay men more often face greater complexities when deciding how to become a parent (surrogacy, adoption, co-parenting, and foster care; Murphy, 2013;Smietana et al, 2014;Carone et al, 2017;Smietana, 2018).…”

Stepfamily Policies and Laws in the United States: Lessons from the West

“…Many states have laws regarding stepfamilies that can override federal ones. The number of states with laws specifically referring to “stepparents” and “stepchildren” is increasing (Kazyak et al, 2018; Peltz, 2017). A 1994 New Hampshire law states that, “every person.…”

“…In 1982, the Alaska Supreme Court in Carter v. Brodrick recognized that if a stepparent lived with a child in a family unit and assumed the obligations of a parent to the stepchild, the stepparent had the same rights to visitation privileges as a natural parent (McCormick, 1983). As of 2017, 12 states (Alaska, California, Delaware, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington) had specific laws or court cases that allow children to have more than two parents (Kazyak et al, 2018; Peltz, 2017).…”