Florida Court Allows 3-Parent Birth Certificate

The ABA Journal reports that a South Florida judge has approved an out-of-court settlement allowing three people—two women and the gay man they used as a sperm donor—to be listed as parents on a 23-month-old girl's birth certificate. While the two women will have sole parental rights and custody of their daughter, the settlement also gives the sperm donor visitation rights twice a week. According to Thomson Reuters, this settlement ends a two-year paternity battle over whether the donor was merely a sperm donor or if his role was broader and encompassing legal rights to the child. Florida law does not recognize the paternity of sperm donors.

Cindy Pham is a third year law student at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and contributes to IAALS Online. Please direct inquiries about this post to iaals@du.edu.