It's not surprising that as more gay and lesbian couples marry or enter into civil unions, there will be divorces and child custody battles. In Vermont, a judge has ordered that the former lesbian partner of a woman who had their biological child be given full custody. In other words, the judge gave custody to the non-biological mother. The couple were joined in a civil union in Vermont in 2000. They broke up in 2003. The biological mother reportedly renounced her homosexuality and moved to Virginia with her daughter. A Vermont judge gave custody to the mother's former partner, saying that the biological mother failed to allow her access to the child. The natural mother was to turn the child over to the former partner on New Years Day. She did not do it, as ordered, and now will probably be held in contempt of court.
There have been a number of such custody and visitation disputes in the last few years. They usually involve the biological mother preventing the former partner from seeing the child. The way a partner can be in a better legal position to see her child would be to adopt the child, when he or she is born. That way, the non-biological mother can have the same rights as the natural mother. However, not every state will allow such adoption.
I have been involved in several such cases. In all of the situations, the child developed a deep emotional bond with both parents. These are often heartbreaking cases, as any custody matter must be. The forensic child psychiatrist can evaluate the motivations of each parent as well as the child's attachment to each one. A report is then rendered to the judge, who will make the final decision.
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