Unmarried, same-sex couples with children will be recognized as parents under a new bill signed today by Gov. Jerry Brown.. Photo: LPETTET/iStock
Unmarried same-sex couples with children will be recognized as parents under a new bill signed today by Gov. Jerry Brown.
State law determines who is a parent, and Assembly Bill 2684 will update California’s more than 40-year-old Uniform Parentage Act by acknowledging a parent and child relationship status to children born to unmarried same-sex couples.
“LGBT families deserve to have equal parentage protections under California law,” Assemblyman Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica), the bill’s author, said in a statement. “AB 2684 ensures that the Uniform Parentage Act codifies that principle into law and ensures that parentage laws reflect and protect the diverse kinds of families in our state.”
Adopted in 1975, California’s existing parentage statutes were enacted to protect the children of unmarried couples from discrimination.
Assembly Bill 2684 — which will go into effect January 1, 2020, also will make statutory changes to the law in two other ways.
It updates genetic testing provisions to clarify that they apply equally to men and women.
It creates a process where children conceived with donated sperm or ova can receive medical information about the donor. Also, when they turn 18, they can receive identifying information about the donor — if the donor agrees.
Equality California and the National Center for Lesbian Rights support the bill.
Contact the journalist: [email protected]
