San Francisco
California’s Supreme Court this week made the state the first in the nation to give gay and lesbian couples full rights and obligations as parents. In three cases—each involving lesbians who had children together and then split up—the court ruled that the women should share visitation rights as well as the financial responsibilities of parenthood. The court said that when two people decide to use reproductive technology to have a child, both become parents no matter who supplies the egg. Gay activists called the ruling a victory for parents and children alike. Gay-marriage opponents said the decision “goes against nature,” because God intended children to have a mother and a father.
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