Ontario

This marks another win for fathers and LGBT families around the world

Ontario just passed a legislation that gives equal parenting rights to all parents regardless of whether they come from an LGBTQ family, are straight, whether their children were conceived naturally or artificially.

According to the press release, the law will come into effect on January 1^st 2017. The All Families Are Equal Act will

Provide greater clarity and certainty for parents who use assisted reproduction to conceive a child

Provide a streamlined process for the legal recognition of parents who use a surrogate, together with requirements meant to protect the rights of all parties through independent legal advice and confirmation of the surrogate’s consent both before conception and after birth

Reduce the need for parents who use assisted reproduction to have to go to court to have their parental status recognized in law

The global parenting scene is gradually becoming more open to unconventional parenting and breaking the mold from the previously though notion that only opposite sex parents can have legal rights over a child.

Some countries, however, are still lagging behind on equal rights for LGBT individuals. For instance, child custody laws in Thailand do not apply to same sex couples, because under Thai law, same-sex marriages are still not recognized.

Same Sex Couples Can Now Adopt in Queensland

LGBTQ Families Still Awaiting Equal Parenting Rights in Canada

Law requires non-biological co-parent to be male to have parental rights

LGBTQ families are anxiously awaiting for changes to be made to a law that “currently discriminates against lesbian couples who use a sperm donor they know, families with more than two parents raising their children and trans men who give birth.”

The law, called the Children’s Law Reform Act of 1990 stipulates that couples who use reproductive technologies such as artificial insemination should be given the same parenting rights as couples who conceive naturally.

However, under this law, the non biological parent could only be presumed a parent if they, both cohabited with the birth mother and is male.

Chaninat & Leeds lawyers in Thailand specialize in family law including Thailand paternity rights and child custody cases in Thailand

According to The Globe and Mail, 21 parents sued the government of Ontario in April this year for the discriminatory law demanding that it be amended. The government ruled in their favor and found that the law violates the Charter of Rights because it “… does not provide equal recognition and the equal benefit and protection of the law to all children, without regard to their parents’ sexual orientation, gender identity, use of assisted reproduction or family composition.”

The government is said to have until the end of this month to introduce the proposed changes. Under the proposed law, children can have up to four legal parents per family. Parents can also choose to write the role they wish to play in the family whether as a mother, father or simply parent, regardless of sex.

Read the full article here

Ontario Passes Equal Parenting Law

LGBTQ Families Still Awaiting Equal Parenting Rights in Canada

Equal Rights to Child Custody for Missouri Man

Australians to Vote on Same-Sex Marriage

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