Church in the World

Court rules that lesbian partner is legal third parent

Canada

A coalition of religious groups will not be allowed to appeal against a court decision to recognise a woman as the "third" parent of her lesbian partner's child, Canada's Supreme Court ruled on 13 September, writes Sabitri Ghosh.

The "Three Parents Case" revolved around a child born to a lesbian couple and fathered by a male friend, who wished to remain the child's legal parent. With his consent, the mother's partner had applied for co-parental status, but her request was denied by a family court judge. The couple then took their case to the Ontario Court of Appeal, which had previously made headlines for overturning Canada's heterosexual-only marriage law in 2003. In another precedent-setting judgement, it reversed the lower court's ruling, citing the best interests of the child.

Because Ontario's Attorney-General declined to take part in the proceedings, the Alliance for Marriage and the Family - a coalition of Evangelical Christian groups and the Catholic Civil Rights League - had sought leave to appeal against the judgement after it was handed down last January. "If left unchallenged," said the Alliance spokesman Don Hutchinson, "[the] decision will have a profound impact on all types of families." But the Supreme Court dismissed its application, concluding that the coalition did not sufficiently explain why it or the case met the test for "public-interest standing" - by which third parties can contest judgements in which they are not directly involved.  "We find it very unfortunate that the children's rights issues raised by that case will not be heard on appeal," said Phil Horgan, president of the Catholic Civil Rights League.