Current Events > Lesbian mom loses custody of child in 15 minutes after sperm donor wants custody

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UnfairRepresent
05/21/22 5:36:52 PM
#1:


For the first two years of her sons life, Kris Williams read him the book Love You Forever before bedtime most nights. She took him to the park every Saturday.

In the middle of the pandemic, Williams cut out the cardboard babies on the front of diaper boxes and set them around the house imaginary friends for W. when he couldnt safely socialize.

Two years after their sons birth, Williams and her wife, Rebekah Wilson, had started to split.

The split was nasty, Williams said, but she wasnt prepped for the news she would receive at the couples divorce hearing in Oklahoma City last January.

Williams and Wilson are legally married and decided to have W. together, according to Williams, with Wilson carrying the baby. But within 15 minutes of the hearing starting, Oklahoma County District Court Judge Lynne McGuire declared that because Williams had not adopted her son, she was not his legal parent. McGuire ordered that Williams be struck from W.s birth certificate. In her place would go the couples sperm donor, who was now petitioning for custody.

My body instantly started shaking, Williams said. I mean pure terror, as a queer person, to be erased.

Williams has filed a motion to reconsider her case that is set to be heard on June 1. If the case makes its way to the appellate court, the ACLU of Oklahoma plans to step in, said Williams attorney Hanna Roberts. Wilson and her lawyer declined multiple requests for an interview.

Williams case represents a nightmare scenario for many LGBTQ+ parents, who still lack the same rights granted to their heterosexual peers through marriage.

The concern is if Kris loses, thats going to set some pretty bad precedent in the state of Oklahoma, and possibly beyond, Roberts said. I think that this is just the first time that there has been such an adverse ruling that is so contrary to equal protection. Its gotten the attention because same sex-couples get divorced all the time.

According to Williams, the couple found Harlan Vaughn on a paternity website together, and the three agreed that he would be involved at a distance. W. was born August 8, 2019. They named him after Williams uncle, she said.

When the couple separated, Williams said that Vaughn moved to Oklahoma City, where he and Wilson W. in tow moved in together. Williams said the last time she saw W. was in November after she and Wilson failed to come to an agreement about how to split up the holidays. Vaughn did not respond to requests for comment.

The divorce has been ugly. Wilson was granted an emergency victim protective order on December 2. In the order, she alleges that Williams physically attacked her. Williams denies this. In January, Williams name was taken off of the birth certificate. The judge did not cite allegations of abuse in the decision.

Though parental laws vary from state-to-state, legal experts say Williams battle to maintain custody of her son could be a test case for Oklahoma and the nation seven years after the Supreme Court granted marriage equality nationwide.

After 2015, when marriage equality was granted federally, queer legal groups battled a series of cases to enshrine marriage rights for LGBTQ+ couples. That included parental rights through marriage. In 2015, two non-gestational parents those who did not give birth in Arkansas were not listed on their childrens birth certificates. Their case, Pavan v. Smith, went all the way to the Supreme Court, where the court ruled that states could not treat queer couples differently than heterosexual ones. If straight couples who conceived together in a marriage were presumed to be parents of that child, queer parents must be afforded that same right, the ruling said.

Karen Loewy, senior counsel at Lambda Legal, notes that decision had a profound impact on marriage and parental rights.

The courts pretty uniformly have found the presumption to apply, have limited the ability of birth moms to try and rebut the presumption of parentage for their same-sex spouse who theyre in the midst of divorcing, and have recognized that children born to married same-sex couples have two parents in both of the spouses, Loewy said.

Loewy said it is unclear in Oklahoma if being listed as a parent on a birth certificate grants parentage. Laws state-to-state regarding birth certificates are idiosyncratic, and while courts have generally granted parental rights to spouses regardless of biological connections, there have been exceptions.

Wilson has posted repeatedly about the case on Facebook. In text and video updates, Wilson alleges that Williams abused her during their marriage, which Williams disputes. She acknowledges that she spoke ugly towards the end of their relationship.

We all have our moments, but to say Im abusive Williams trailed off.

In her social media posts, Wilson says she is not motivated by a desire to undermine LGBTQ+ parental rights. Instead, she says her goal is to protect W. from perceived harm, using the tools available to her.

We want clarity and truth on official state documents, one Oklahoma lawmaker said.

I will use any legal strategy I need to use, unapologetically, she wrote on March 9.

Nancy Polikoff is professor emerita at American University College of Law and an expert in LGBTQ+ family law. She says queer legal experts, fearing cases like Williams, have warned clients to get confirmatory adoptions while case law in states catches up to federal marriage rights.

Nobody wants to do it because it costs money and because its offensive to have to adopt your own child, but it is the guarantee that that parent-child relationship can be recognized anywhere, even if you move to the most homophobic possible state, Polikoff said

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/7/8/AAZiH8AADQWC.jpg

so fucked up

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BignutzisBack
05/21/22 5:39:34 PM
#2:


Oof, I don't like her chances in the state of Oklahoma either sadly. I believe correct me if I'm wrong that it was the only state that had every single county vote red last election

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Guide
05/21/22 5:39:41 PM
#3:


I can't empathize because that's too scary to think about. Rationally, it is incredibly fucked up.

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ThePieReborn
05/21/22 5:43:06 PM
#4:


"Best interests of the child" do not mean granting custody to someone who is effectively a stranger, regardless of biological paternity.

Absolute embarrassment.

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Tom Clark
05/21/22 5:51:56 PM
#5:


So fucked up.

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I4NRulez
05/21/22 5:54:03 PM
#6:


Wait, it said she didnt adopt the kid. Was she not able to or just didnt? Also, how active is the sperm donor in the kids life, and dont they usually sign something to prevent this?

I have a lot of questions because it feels like she missed a lot of the shit I normally see about these situations.

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holy_bolt
05/21/22 5:56:34 PM
#7:


What the FUCK

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DeadBankerDream
05/21/22 5:57:01 PM
#8:


I4NRulez posted...
Wait, it said she didnt adopt the kid. Was she not able to or just didnt? Also, how active is the sperm donor in the kids life, and dont they usually sign something to prevent this?

I have a lot of questions because it feels like she missed a lot of the shit I normally see about these situations.
While she absolutely should have, the idea that parents have to adopt their own child to receive parental rights over it is beyond offensive to the sensibilities.

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Donomark
05/21/22 6:01:54 PM
#9:


...how does this work when the parents are two men who divorce? Here, it's clear that the birth mother retains her rights. But what about a situation with two men? Would the "sperm donor" (assuming one of the spouses is one) be the sole parent to retain parental rights?

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I4NRulez
05/21/22 6:05:05 PM
#10:


DeadBankerDream posted...
While she absolutely should have, the idea that parents have to adopt their own child to receive parental rights over it is beyond offensive to the sensibilities.

Oh no, I agree, I'm just saying in this situation you have to go for every precaution and loophole because ESPECIALLY in a place like Oklahoma you never know which bigot is going to try to fuck you over.

Kinda like how gay couples rushed to get married when it was legalized because they knew they couldnt trust the government

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Cuticrusader09
05/21/22 6:08:32 PM
#11:


Is this something that wouldve been avoided if they had gone through a sperm bank or drawn up a legal document with a lawyer? Even straight couples can get into custody trouble if they try to save and go to these paternity websites and not have good legal documents drawn up.

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Sayoria
05/21/22 6:14:03 PM
#12:


BignutzisBack posted...
Oof, I don't like her chances in the state of Oklahoma either sadly. I believe correct me if I'm wrong that it was the only state that had every single county vote red last election

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/0/7/AAKLOFAADQWf.jpg

Actually no, seems West Virginia too.

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VipaGTS
05/21/22 6:15:00 PM
#13:


good job, republicans.

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DarkChozoGhost
05/21/22 6:15:32 PM
#14:


I4NRulez posted...
Wait, it said she didnt adopt the kid. Was she not able to or just didnt? Also, how active is the sperm donor in the kids life, and dont they usually sign something to prevent this?

I have a lot of questions because it feels like she missed a lot of the shit I normally see about these situations.
She was married to the other mother and her name was on the birth certificate, meaning she was legally the son's parent. So there would have been no need for an adoption, and attempting to do so would probably have been difficult and overly complicated anyway.

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MabusIncarnate
05/21/22 6:20:40 PM
#15:


It's baffling to me how you can donate sperm and thereafter claim the child as yours. Then again, it's Oklahoma.

Can you donate money to politicians there, and if they lose, receive it back?

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ROBANN_88
05/21/22 6:34:54 PM
#16:


that because Williams had not adopted her son, she was not his legal parent. McGuire ordered that Williams be struck from W.s birth certificate.

I am confused, she hadn't adopted the kid, but she was written in on the birth certificate?
Maybe i just don't understand how american birth certificate beaurocracy works, but this doesn't make sense to me

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Zikten
05/21/22 6:41:01 PM
#17:


Wait but she's literally the birth mom, correct? How is this even a situation then?
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ellis123
05/21/22 6:43:58 PM
#18:


Zikten posted...
Wait but she's literally the birth mom, correct? How is this even a situation then?
People continue to vote Republican so they continue to get in office.


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DeadBankerDream
05/21/22 6:45:03 PM
#19:


Zikten posted...
Wait but she's literally the birth mom, correct? How is this even a situation then?
No?

Read again.

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Cuticrusader09
05/21/22 6:45:22 PM
#20:


Zikten posted...
Wait but she's literally the birth mom, correct? How is this even a situation then?

Lesbians. Kid has two mothers. Mother that carried and gave birth is on the birth certificate. They didnt go though a sperm bank to get pregnant though. Used some website with guys that volunteer, but apparently didnt have legal documents set up so that guy would have no rights (stuff you dont have to worry about with a sperm bank). It is biting the mother that didnt give birth to the child in the ass.

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Alteres
05/21/22 6:45:30 PM
#21:


Zikten posted...
Wait but she's literally the birth mom, correct? How is this even a situation then?
No, shes the other one.

Why do people lie and not read?

Is the truth not unpleasant enough?

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SomeLikeItHoth
05/21/22 6:47:32 PM
#22:


Sounds like she was fucked over by a loop hole.

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archedsoul
05/21/22 6:49:41 PM
#23:


A little weird that the guy has now moved in with the birth mother. Maybe she's bi and they fell in love and now doing this to fuck over the other mother. I know it's probably for the kid, but still, he could have just moved nearby lol.

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Alteres
05/21/22 6:52:12 PM
#24:


Its not really a loophole, its just a mess.

She was supposed to adopt the kid, either that or you have to change the law to however is married to the birth mother at time of birth is the parent.

That would fuck over tons of people too.

Thats why you have legal contracts or adoption.

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Returning_CEmen
05/21/22 7:28:42 PM
#25:


This is incredibly fucked.


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DarkChozoGhost
05/21/22 7:33:29 PM
#26:


ROBANN_88 posted...
I am confused, she hadn't adopted the kid, but she was written in on the birth certificate?
Maybe i just don't understand how american birth certificate beaurocracy works, but this doesn't make sense to me
She was married to the other mother and they were planning to raise the child together, so she was put on the birth certificate as a parent (which was correct).

Alteres posted...
Its not really a loophole, its just a mess.

She was supposed to adopt the kid, either that or you have to change the law to however is married to the birth mother at time of birth is the parent.

That would fuck over tons of people too.

Thats why you have legal contracts or adoption.
She wasn't "supposed to" adopt the kid. She was already a legal guardian. This judge is just an evil piece of shit trying to punish lesbians

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GiftedACIII
05/21/22 7:41:03 PM
#27:


The sperm donor getting custody and birth certificate makes zero sense unless Wilson was secretly having an affair with him or something.

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Alteres
05/21/22 7:41:25 PM
#28:


Signing a birth certificate gives no parental rights.

Know the fucking laws if you want to help people, changing them intelligently is the only way to make progress.

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realnifty1
05/21/22 8:02:19 PM
#29:


Alteres posted...
Signing a birth certificate gives no parental rights.

Know the fucking laws if you want to help people, changing them intelligently is the only way to make progress.

Depends on the state, but it does seem that OK is a bit weird, but also only appears to apply to unmarried couples. I guess they must not have been married at the time of birth maybe.
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Lil_Bit83
05/21/22 8:07:51 PM
#30:


This is bullshit, but not surprising considering that it's some bible belt state. You know who is gonna lose most because of bigots? The kid.

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