Biological mother of child, who donated egg to birth mother and was previously in same-sex relationship with birth mother, filed petition to establish parental rights and for declaratory relief, including adjudication of parentage and a declaration of constitutional invalidity with respect to statute providing for relinquishment of parental rights in connection with provision of biological material during course of assisted reproductive technology.
Held:
(1) biological mother was “donor” within scope of challenged statute;
(2) biological mother’s inchoate interest developed into protected fundamental due process right to be parent to child;
(3) application of challenged statute to require biological mother to relinquish her parental rights violated due process;
(4) statutory differentiation between heterosexual and same-sex couples with respect to requirement that donor of biological material relinquish parental rights violated equal protection; and
(5) biological mother did not waive her parental rights by signing standard informed consent form.
http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/decisions/2013/sc12-261.pdf
Laura Morgan is a Family Law Consultant. Laura is available for consultation, brief writing and research on family law issues throughout the country. She can be reached through her website. www.famlawconsult.com
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