“Outdated, Discriminatory, Unconstitutional”A coalition of parents, community advocates, and scientific and legal experts delivered emotional testimony today in support of the Connecticut Parentage Act.
HARTFORD – In a powerful hearing before the Connecticut Judiciary Committee, families and community members called on assembly members to pass the Connecticut Parentage Act (CPA), state legislation that would ensure that all Connecticut children — regardless of the circumstances of their birth or the marital status, gender, or sexual orientation of their parents — have equal access to the security of a legal parent-child relationship. A recording of the testimony is available here.
While Connecticut historically has been a leader in LGBTQ equality, it still fails to extend parentage protections to different-sex and same-sex couples equally—leaving many parents in same-sex relationships legal strangers to their own children. The absence of a legal relationship can have a devastating impact on families, including by barring parents from making medical and educational decisions for their children, adding their children to their health insurance, or obtaining custody in the event of separation or death of a legal parent.
“When our amazing baby girl was born, my wife Denise and I were horrified to learn that Denise wouldn’t be legally recognized as her parent nationwide unless she went through the long and expensive process of adopting her own child,” said Bridgeport resident Stephanie Ocasio-Gonzalez who with her wife Denise is raising both their now-toddler daughter and a teenage son. “I lie awake at night worrying about what would happen to my family if, God forbid, something were to happen to me—Denise could lose both her wife and her children. Same-sex couples shouldn’t have to worry about death before we create new life.”
The CPA would modernize Connecticut’s parentage law by filling gaps in existing protections and ensuring access to legal parenthood for all children, including those with unmarried, same-sex, or non-biological parents. For example, the CPA would extend the Acknowledgement of Parentage process to same-sex couples, a simple form already available to unmarried different-sex couples that allows a parent to establish a legal parent-child relationship at birth without court proceedings. The bill would also remove gender-specific language from the state’s parentage laws, and it would provide protections for children born to unmarried parents through assisted reproduction—in a state where assisted reproduction accounts for about four percent of all births.
“For years, I’ve heard from residents about the nightmare of red tape and degrading obstacles that our current law presents to parents,” said Rep. Jeff Currey (East Hartford, Manchester, South Windsor), who introduced the legislation. “Our state’s law should reflect the reality of the lives of our state’s families—our children’s futures depend on it. The CPA will ensure that our state’s laws give LGBTQ parents and their children the dignity and security they deserve.”
Many impacted families and representatives, including submitted testimony at the hearing. The effort to pass the Connecticut Parentage Act is led by the We CARE Coalition, a coalition of Connecticut families, legal advocates, and community organizations and spearheaded by a Yale Law School clinic and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders.
“As it stands, Connecticut’s parentage law is outdated, discriminatory, and unconstitutional,” said Professor Douglas NeJaime of Yale Law School, a Connecticut native and a principal drafter of the bill. “The day a child is born should be the happiest time of a parent’s life—not a time of legal uncertainty and worry. The Connecticut Parentage Act will treat families that have historically been excluded based on gender, sexual orientation, and marital status with the respect and recognition they deserve.”
Read Professor NeJaime’s written testimony
“Passing the Connecticut Parentage Act will protect vulnerable children and families and send a signal that Connecticut stands for equality and dignity for all under the law,” said Polly Crozier, Senior Staff Attorney at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders and a principal drafter of the legislation. “The bill is a commonsense measure that has been enacted in many states and has the bipartisan support of legislators and state and national legal and medical experts. Connecticut’s families cannot wait any longer for equal access to parentage—we hope the Assembly will act quickly to protect LGBTQ parents and their children.”
Read Polly Crozier’s written testimony
The Connecticut Parentage Act is adapted from model legislation by the Uniform Law Commission, a non-partisan body of state lawmakers, state judges, scholars, and lawyers that produces uniform laws on a wide range of state-law issues. The 2017 Uniform Parentage Act provides a model so that states meet their constitutional obligations to provide equal paths to parentage for nonmarital children and children of LGBTQ parents. Multiple states, including Maine, Washington, Vermont, California, and Rhode Island, have adopted similar legislation. In 2020, the CPA received strong bipartisan support in the Connecticut General Assembly, but the session was cut short due to COVID-19.
The CPA is supported by a broad range of experts and organizations, including child advocates, legal organizations, LGBTQ groups, and medical experts. Supporters include: the Center for Children’s Advocacy, Connecticut Voices for Children, the Connecticut ACLU, the Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund, the Connecticut Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, the Connecticut Gay & Lesbian Chamber, the New Haven Pride Center, PFLAG Hartford, the Triangle Community Center, COLAGE, Family Equality, the Connecticut Bar Association, the Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys, Resolve New England, Fertility Within Reach, New England Fertility Society, the Center for Advanced Reproductive Services, Reproductive Medicine Associates of Connecticut, and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
A team of Yale Law students and faculty have worked for the past two years to coordinate legislative drafting and advocacy efforts with members of the General Assembly, judges of the family and probate courts, state agencies, state fertility clinics, child welfare groups, LGBTQ rights organizations, and the Connecticut Bar Association.
“As Connecticut residents and Connecticut voters, we are proud to support the CPA,” said Cara Newlon, a third-year law student who has worked on the bill from its inception. “For those of us anticipating careers in LGBTQ justice and gender equality, working on this bill has been an incredible opportunity to legislate our own rights—and those of past and future clients—into existence. We call on Connecticut lawmakers to build on the state’s legacy as a leader in LGBTQ rights to protect all families, regardless of how they are formed.”
GLAD 与耶鲁大学法学院的 Douglas NeJaime、康涅狄格州的家庭以及其他社区组织共同组建了“我们关爱联盟”。“我们关爱联盟”共同努力,为《美国公民及移民法案》(CPA)争取支持,并促使该法案在 2021 年的议会会议上获得通过。想要了解更多关于争取支持的努力,并阅读受康涅狄格州亲子法影响的家庭的故事,请访问: 访问 We Care 网站.
Thank you to everyone who participated in GLAD’s Justice for All Connecticut on April 25, 2021!
Missed the event? Want to re-watch the highlights? We’ve got you covered.
Watch Senior Attorney Polly Crozier’s update on GLAD’s critical LGBTQ+ work in Connecticut and throughout the nation – and how supporters like you can make a difference.
As part of the 我们关爱联盟, GLAD is working to pass 康涅狄格州亲子关系法. The bill would protect children of LGBTQ parents and ensure every child born in Connecticut has equal access to the security of legal parentage.
This year, we were thrilled to honor Connecticut State Representative Jeff Currey for his profound dedication to the rights and equality of the LGBTQ community. Watch his moving remarks about the power of authenticity in his life and his work, and his call for each of us to take an active role in fighting for what’s right.
Together, we paid tribute to friend and trailblazer Jerimarie Liesegang, for her lifetime of work advocating for the transgender community in Connecticut and beyond. Her work impacted all of us, and we miss her dearly.
GLAD’s work is only possible because of your support. Thank you. If you made a pledge during the event – or want to make a gift now to keep the fight for justice moving forward – just click here to make your donation.
访问 glad.org/events to find more upcoming events and opportunities to connect with the GLAD community!
Co Chairs Anne Stanback & Charlotte Kinlock Meghan Freed & Kristen Marcroft Christiana N. Gianopulos Charlie Reed
主办委员会 Linda Estabrook Beth Kerrigan & Jody Mock Brad & Flint Kleinerman-Gehre Shawn Lang Danny Livingston Robin & Holly McHaelen Rev. Aaron Miller & MCC Hartford Mark Ojakian & Jason Veretto Alice Pritchard & Dana Bugl 格雷琴·拉法
As of April 25, 2021
For more information, please contact Chris Rainville at crainville@glad.org.
For nearly 50 years, Title IX has served as a bedrock for establishing fair and equal educational opportunities. Any move the Office of Civil Rights takes to wield Title IX as a weapon against transgender high school girls erodes the significance of this landmark civil rights law.
康涅狄格州法律和先前的联邦法院判决均支持公平包容的政策,并支持CIAC的政策。康涅狄格州拥有强有力且明确的反歧视法律,州教育部门也出台了指导意见,规定跨性别学生必须享有平等的入学机会,包括跨性别女孩参加女子学校体育运动的权利。此前,联邦法院已有多项判决,规定联邦性别歧视保护法(包括《宪法修正案第九条》和《宪法修正案第七条》等)适用于跨性别者。此外,负责执行康涅狄格州反歧视法律的州级机构——康涅狄格州人权与机会委员会(Connecut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities)已介入联邦诉讼,并积极维护CIAC的政策。
“我们赞扬委员会认识到跨性别者的关键医疗保健需求,并指出拒绝提供医疗服务的医疗计划中固有的歧视,” Ben Klein,GLBTQ 法律倡导者和捍卫者高级律师将医生处方的手术归类为“选择性”或“美容性”的排除条款,与大量的科学证据相矛盾,只能用对跨性别者的刻板印象和偏见来解释。这项裁决将确保患者和医生之间能够做出必要的关键医疗决策,并使康涅狄格州居民能够获得挽救生命的医疗服务。