Court Awards Custody to Adopted Parent Involving Same Sex Couple

A judge in a New York Family Court case involving a same sex couple recently awarded full custody of a child to her adopted mother instead of her biological mother.

In rendering her decision the judge focused on the fact that, under the law, “the biology of the child is irrelevant”, and determined that the biological parent does not have “automatic priority over the adoptive parent” but that “only the best interests of the child are paramount.”

One can agree with the adopted parent, who stated that “It’s a step closer to the gay community being acknowledged as parents,” “The law needs to catch up to diverse families — and it has.”

In my opinion, this decision had everything to do with the best interests of the child, rather than focusing on the rights of LGBT parents. However, by treating same sex parents exactly the same under the law as they would different sex parents, this decision represents a victory for the LGBT community.