Federal lawsuit says Idaho paternity laws discriminate against same-sex parents

Idaho’s laws on paternity, artificial insemination and vital statistics unconstitutionally violate the rights of same-sex couples and their children, a new lawsuit filed Thursday in federal district court charges.

News Story (Idaho)

Betsy Z Russell
Idaho Statesman
November 17, 2016
READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Tags: LGBTQ

Organizations mentioned/involved: Idaho Legal Aid Services


DETAILS

The case was filed on behalf of a 37-year-old Nampa woman and her 4-year-old daughter, who is the biological daughter of her former same-sex partner. The two had been together since 2007, but at the time their daughter was born in 2012, Idaho didn’t allow same-sex marriage. Now, the estranged spouse, who has helped raise and support the child all her life, was present at her birth and helped pick her name, has no legal relationship to her.

“All we ask for is to be treated like an opposite-sex couple, whether they’re married or not,” said Howard Belodoff, associate director of Idaho Legal Aid Services, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of Adela Ayala and her daughter. “In the eyes of Idaho law, the non-biological same-sex partner really doesn’t have any rights.”