It’s a big, fat roundup to close out the week — some of the stories I haven’t covered already. Enjoy!
Politics and Law
- First, a bit of somber news: Jen Roper and Angelique Neuman, moms of four in Pojoaque, New Mexico, have filed an emergency request with a federal district court asking to legally marry before Roper succumbs to a life-threatening form of brain cancer. “I want to know that my family will be protected if I pass away,” said Roper. “Angelique and I have been married in our hearts for 21 years and raised three wonderful children together.” The couple cannot travel to another state to wed because of Roper’s illness. They are working with the ACLU of New Mexico, the ACLU, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights. The case comes as the battle for marriage equality picks up steam in the state.
- The Israeli High Court of Justice heard the case of a lesbian couple who want one partner to carry the egg of the other. Same-sex couples are not allowed to do surrogacy procedures (which this is considered), but different-sex ones can. Although the Health Ministry offered to let them do the egg extraction in Israel, with the implantation elsewhere, the couple refused. (I agree with them; my spouse and I used this method, and the idea of shlepping extracted eggs around for no good reason is kind of ridiculous. It’s a touchy enough process as is.)
- The Ashville Citizen-Times (via the New Civil Rights Movement) reports that moms Becky Boisvert and Sanne Schijven are the first bi-national, same-sex couple from North Carolina to receive legal resident status.
Family Profiles
- The Toronto Star interviews several young adults with same-sex parents, including the daughter of the editor of Who’s Your Daddy?: And Other Writings on Queer Parenting
, a great anthology about LGBT parenting that I highly recommend.
- The U.K.’s Daily Mail gives us the poignant story of Jed, an abused child who had been in 29 foster homes before finding love and a permanent home with two gay dads.
- Freedom to Marry profiles teen Justin Maxwell, who is fighting for marriage equality in North Carolina, inspired by his two dads.
- TODAY anchor and correspondent Jenna Wolfe and NBC News foreign correspondent Stephanie Gosk welcomed their first child, Harper Estelle Wolfeld Gosk. Wolfe blogs about parenting at her TODAY Moms blog, Jenna’s (Baby) Food For Thought.
- If you’re not reading Stacyann Chin’s posts at HuffPo on the first year of single motherhood, you really should be.
- The Oxygen Network’s adoption reality show “I’m Having Their Baby” included a lesbian couple in its latest episode. Lester Brathwaite of Queerty recaps.
Moves
- The Family Equality Council has named Gabriel Blau its new executive director. He was formerly the organization’s deputy director of strategic advancement.
- Laura Douglas-Brown, founding editor of the Georgia Voice and a lesbian mom, is stepping down after three-and-a-half years at the helm.
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