Special Issue on the Evolution of Marriage: Children of Same-Sex Parents Deserve the Security Blanket of the Parentage Presumption

Abstract

... This article considers what rights are important to children of same-sex couples, and concludes that these children must be protected by the presumption of parentage. ... As such, the parentage presumption should apply equally to children born of a same-sex marriage, domestic partnership, or civil union, as well as to children who live with a same-sex partner in a parent-child relationship. ... There are a few notable exceptions: if the couple is able to marry, if the non-biological parent(s) adopt the child, or if the couple enters a domestic partnership or civil union in a state that recognizes a parentage presumption. ... Two recent cases decided by the California Supreme Court illustrate the pressing need for a parentage presumption applicable to children of same-sex couples. ... As explained above, the state assumes that same-sex families cause children harm or, at a minimum, that heterosexual marriages are better for children. ... The parentage presumption should be implemented in two circumstances in particular: when a child is born to a couple recognized as a domestic partnership or a civil union and when a partner has acted as a de facto parent. ... As with married, heterosexual couples, a presumption of parentage should exist if a child is born to partners of a domestic partnership or civil union. ...