Florida Judge Okays Birth Certificate With Three Parents
Miami, FL – A Florida judge has approved the adoption of a 22-month-old baby girl that will list three people as parents on her birth certificate. The three parents are a married lesbian couple and a gay man.
The birth certificate with three parents marks the end of a two-year paternity fight between the lesbian couple and a gay friend of the women who fathered the child via donation but later decided to embrace fatherhood. The ruling means the child’s birth certificate will include a biological father and both women as parents. This is quite an unusual arrangement, but it has been approved by a Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge.
The women — Maria Italiano, 43, and Cher Filippazzo, 38 — had made several unsuccessful attempts to become parents using fertility clinics until their hair dresser, Massimiliano Gerina, agreed to “donate” to their cause.
According to NBC News, Kenneth Kaplan, an attorney for the women, stated:
“When push came to shove, they figured he would understand the situation. The mistake they made, however, was there should have been a written document spelling out what his rights and responsibilities were going to be.”
Shortly before baby Emma was born, however, Gerina decided he wanted to be a legal parent and take more responsibility. The women disagreed. Under Florida law, sperm donors have no legal rights to children, so Gerina hired a lawyer, setting off nearly two years of legal hassles.
Under the judge’s decision, the two women will have sole parental rights, although Gerina will be allowed to visit the child. He will not be expected to provide child support.
According to Yahoo News, Cher Filippazzo explained the agreement:
“We’re trying to do the right thing for Emma. We want Emma to have it all, and we believe by doing it this way, including him in a birthday or Thanksgiving, it’ll be a nice addition for her. We believe the best interest for Emma is for him to have a role in her life, but not as a parent. The role is this is mommy’s good friend who helped your moms have you because they wanted you so badly.”
Do you think the Florida judge made the right decision in allowing baby Emma to have three people listed as her parents?
“Trust us it’s not a slippery slope don’t worry!” RT “@duh_progressive: Florida judge approves birth certificate listing three parents.”
— Paul David Wargo (@yourboypdubs) February 8, 2013
