TOPEKA, KS– When it comes to lesbians, most guys picture something salacious like a scene out of a porno. But in reality, they come in all shapes in sizes. They could be the woman sitting next to you on the bus or, here in Houston, the mayor at City Hall.
But when they have children together, the Kansas Supreme Court sees lesbian moms as equals, regardless of who gave birth to them.
Why? Because of a case between one lesbian couple, Marci Frazier and Kelly Goudschaal, who split up after 13 years together. Separating is nothing groundbreaking today, but they had two daughters through artificial insemination that Kelly gave birth to.
Though they’d signed an agreement to co-parent, the split got ugly. Kelly said she was moving to Texas for a new job, and taking the kids with her. When Marci filed suit for equal parenting time, Kelly argued she wasn’t a biological parent, so she had no right to see them.
A Kansas judge disagreed and ruled against Kelly. She appealed, but the Kansas Supreme Court upheld the decision. They recognized both women as legal parents since they both agreed to raise the children together.
That’s good news, not just for lesbian moms and gay dads, but for all types of families where non-biological parents are raising kids.
Let’s hope this kind of acceptance spreads across the country, because when it comes to non-traditional families, they’re not just in Kansas anymore.
