Law and LGBQ-Parent Families

Abstract

This paper addresses how the law affects LGBQ-parent families. We first outline the legal landscape that LGBQ parents face in the US, underscoring that it varies drastically by state and creates inequity for families. Reviewing existing social science research, we then address how the law affects three processes for LGBQ people: desiring parenthood, becoming a parent, and experiencing parenthood. Our review indicates that the law affects if and how LGBQ people become parents.LGBQ people consider the law as they make decisions about whether to pursue adoption, donor insemination, or surrogacy and often view the latter two pathways as the most legally secure. Further, the law continues to be salient for LGBQ parents throughout parenthood and affects family well-being. Specifically, legal inequity diminishes parent's well-being, the relationship among couples who are parenting, and parents' ability to effectively advocate for their children in institutional settings like healthcare contexts. Finally, we address directions for future research for scholars interested in the law, family processes and outcomes, and LGBQ families.

Law and Family Formation Among LGBQ‐Parent Families

“…Providing accurate legal information and assistance for LGBQ people interested in adopting may be particularly important. Some LGBQ people are more open to adoption and have more expansive understandings of family and parenthood than do their heterosexual peers (Goldberg et al, ; Kazyak et al, ). Yet research indicates the need for all LGBQ prospective parents, regardless of pathway chosen, to have adequate legal information.…”

“…Second, social science research also indicates that LGBQ people have perceived certain pathways to parenting as more legally secure than others. Specifically, many LGBQ people view donor insemination and surrogacy as the most legally secure pathways to parenthood (Baumle & Compton, ; Berkowitz, ; Lev, ; Park, Kazyak, & Slauson‐Blevins, ; Ryan & Berkowitz, ). Ryan and Berkowitz (), for instance, found that many lesbian women viewed donor insemination as more secure from a legal perspective than other pathways to parenthood, given that the birth mother would automatically be recognized as a parent on the birth certificate.…”

“…The fourth social barrier is the fact that LGBQ people can face difficulty obtaining legal information. Many LGBQ individuals spend a lot of time researching the laws and can find the process of trying to gain knowledge about the legal landscape to be stressful, nonetheless they do not always have accurate knowledge about the law (Baumle & Compton, ; Brown et al, ; Kazyak et al, ; Kazyak, ). Rather than consult attorneys, LGBQ parents often obtain legal information from other avenues such as friends and others in their social networks and the media (Baumle & Compton, ; Gash & Raiskin, ; Kazyak, ).…”

“…Findings from social science literature underscore the negative impact that a lack of recognition of same‐sex relationships has on parents and children alike (Bernstein & Taylor, ; Goldberg & Kuvalanka, ; Kimport, ; Meezan & Rauch, ; Richman, ; Riggle, Rostosky, Prather, & Hamrin, ). Moreover, the lack of marriage rights in the United States also resulted in LGBQ people facing a number of legal barriers when pursuing parenthood (Ball, ; Kazyak & Woodell, ). For instance, both parents could not be listed on the birth certificate; some states excluded same‐sex couples from adoption because they were not married; and, in general, much uncertainty and variation existed across states (Baumle & Compton, ; Ball, ; Shapiro, ).…”

“It Takes a Lot of Planning”: Sexual Minority Young Adult Perceptions of Gay and Lesbian Parenthood

“…In general, sexual minorities’ desires for pursuing parenthood are shaped by their perceptions of access, social support, as well as contextual constraints related to the workplace, legal structures and healthcare systems (Gato et al., 2017; Kazyak & Woodell, 2016; Riskind & Patterson, 2010). For LGB young people in particular, however, parenthood aspirations are also uniquely impacted by their formative developmental trajectories that can include processes of identity development and the emergence into adulthood.…”