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The
biological parents of a two-year-old boy in London, Ontario,
want his mother's lesbian partner to be granted legal
parental status, the London Free Press reported Friday.
Appearing
last week in Family Court, the two women asked Justice
David Aston to declare that the boy has three parents
- two moms and a dad. His father - who does not live with
them but is "involved" in raising his son -
supported the application. Lawyer Grace Kerr, representing
the woman who wants to be declared the boy's non-biological
mother, says a favourable ruling would break new legal
ground in Canada. "The declaration of motherhood
which we are seeking," she told the Free Press, "could
set a precedent that would expand the number of people
who will be able to seek relief as a mom or dad under
the law."
Although
Aston reserved his ruling, he told the applicants, "I
can't imagine a stronger case for seeking the order you
are seeking." He added that "the only hurdle
you've got to get over" is the proper interpretation
of the requirements for parental declaration under Ontario's
Children's Law Reform Act. Section 4.3 states that when
"the relationship of mother and child has been established,
the court may make a declaratory order." Kerr argued
that this did not preclude a child having two mothers,
or that the mother-child relationship must be biological
in origin.
The
two women - one a lawyer and the other a professor - exchanged
marriage-like vows in a ceremony in 1992. When they decided
to become parents, the Free Press reported, "they
asked a friend to be the father."
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