Court upholds lesbian's parental rights

Court upholds lesbian's parental rights
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
New York Times News Service. Tribune news services contributed to this report
Published August 5, 2006

Isabella Miller-Jenkins has two mothers, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled Friday.

The court rejected a host of arguments from Isabella's biological mother, Lisa Miller, that her former lesbian partner, Janet Jenkins, should be denied parental rights.

The decision conflicts with one from a court in Virginia, where Miller and her daughter, who is 4, now live. A lawyer for Miller predicted that the U.S. Supreme Court would eventually resolve the dispute.

After living together for several years in Virginia, Miller and Jenkins traveled to Vermont to enter into a civil union in 2000. Isabella was born in Virginia in 2002, after Miller was impregnated with sperm from an anonymous donor.

When Isabella was 4 months old, the women moved to Vermont, where they separated after about a year. Miller and Isabella moved back to Virginia.

It was not clear that Virginia courts will honor the Vermont decision. In October 2004, a judge in Winchester, Va., granted sole custody of Isabella to Miller.

"The Vermont ruling illustrates that same-sex marriage or civil unions will inevitably clash with other states," said Mathew Staver, chairman of Liberty Counsel, a public interest law firm that represents Miller. "This case will have to be resolved at the United States Supreme Court."

In another case Friday, Indiana's Supreme Court let stand a ruling that allows unmarried couples, including those of the same sex, to adopt children through a joint petition giving both partners equal custody.