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Friday, June 16, 2006

Law - Kentucky Supreme Court rules in a same-sex adoption case

Andrew Wolfson of the Louisville Courier Journal has a story today headlined "Lesbian loses in custody case: Couple split after both had cared for child." The facts are:

[Brenda] Fawbush, then a bartender, and [Teresa] Davis, a social worker, met about 11 years ago and decided two years later they wanted to raise a child together, according to court records.

When their attempts to conceive through artificial insemination failed, they decided to adopt, but only one could sign the adoption papers under Kentucky law.

Although Davis signed the papers, the couple paid for the adoption from a joint account and agreed they would both be her parents. They lived together as a two-parent family; the girl called Davis "Mommy" and Fawbush "Nina" -- for mother.

More from the story:
But the lesbian couple underwent a bitter split three years ago. Davis, who had adopted the girl because of legal questions about whether gay couples can jointly adopt in Kentucky, took her and wouldn't let Fawbush see her.

Fawbush sued for visitation and custody rights, claiming she had served as the girl's parent. But yesterday the Kentucky Supreme Court unanimously sided with Davis, delivering a blow to the rights of joint caregivers, including gay parents.

The 7-0 decision written by Chief Justice Joseph Lambert held that Fawbush did not qualify as the child's "de facto custodian" because she was not the primary caregiver, despite "participating substantially in the support and rearing of a child for a significant period of time."

Fawbush's Louisville lawyer, Bryan Gatewood, said the court had "missed a great opportunity to affirm that children should be raised by both parents who love them."

Diana Skaggs of the Kentucky Divorce Law Journal has much more about this case and will also post the opinion shortly.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on June 16, 2006 08:36 AM
Posted to General Law Related