An Oklahoma judge ruled on Thursday that a baby created for a lesbian couple using purchased sperm belongs with his biological mother and father, not his mom’s female ex.
Kris Williams argued that because she helped raise the toddler with her now ex-wife Rebekah Wilson and since she is listed on his birth certificate, she deserves full parental rights. Oklahoma County District Judge Lynne McGuire rejected that claim and said that Oklahoma law detailing parentage trumps the state’s legalization of same-sex marriage.
“[The act] does not take into account same-sex marriage, and there is no presumption that the wife of the mother is automatically presumed the parent of a child born during the marriage,” McGuire wrote.
Williams, McGuire said, “was able to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that she acted in a parental role during her marriage” but ultimately, “there was no evidence presented regarding the length of time it would take to establish a ‘meaningful emotional relationship with the child.’”
That meant giving Harlan Vaughn, the couple’s sperm supplier who is now in a relationship with Wilson, full parental rights. McGuire said Williams, who never legally adopted the child nor birthed him, did not qualify for a “mother–child relationship” under state law.
“The reality is that the law provides a legal remedy to those seeking parental rights. There was a legal remedy available to Williams. She knowingly chose not to pursue it,” McGuire wrote.
The mix of same-sex marriage laws and the rapidly expanding
