What Does It Take to Be a (Lesbian) Parent - On Intent and Genetics

This Note analyzes KM v. E.G., 13 Cal. Rptr 3d 136 (Cal. Ct. App. 2004), the first case brought in front of any court of appeals in the U.S. where the lesbian egg donor (the genetic mother) who raised her children for six years together with her partner (the gestational mother) was denied parental rights after the couple separated.

The application of the intent based determination of parentage originally devised to solve competing parental claims in surrogacy case is criticized as inappropriate, unnecessary and unjustified. The absence of legal protections for lesbian parents and standards addressing issues unique to lesbian families need to be challenged by questioning the underlying concepts of the dominant legal regime, rather than by trying to assimilate lesbians within the existing framework.