Jason Hanna And Joe Riggs, Texas Gay Fathers, Denied Legal Parenthood Of Twin Sons
Its heartbreaking to think that a state has erased the parents of children and put a family in legal jeopardy, simply because of discrimination against gay and lesbian couples. But thats what happened to a gay couple in Texas after what they described as the "magical" birth of their twin boys.
Jason Hanna and Joe Riggs are the proud fathers of Lucas and Ethan, who were born in April, after they'd connected with a surrogate mom, CharLynn.
Each of the men is a biological father to one of the babies. But, because Texas has a ban on gay marriage (it was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge last February, but the decision was stayed pending appeal), and because a judge can use his or her own discretion in these cases, neither of the men is currently on the birth certificates of either of the boys, nor have they been able to co-adopt each others biological child.
Only the surrogate mother who has no biological relationship to the boys, since embryos were transferred to her is on the birth certificates. In essence, the men are not legally defined as the parents of their own children. And though they have DNA tests for proof, theyre worried, particularly if something were to happen to one of them while the other still has not been able to co-adopt the others biological child.
More at
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/18/jason-hanna-and-joe-riggs_n_5506720.html
Cross-posted in the Texas Group.