3 Comments

David Nickol
September 11th, 2012 | 9:18 am

Jennifer Roback Morse’s article about California’s “three-parent law” totally ignores the fact that exactly equivalent circumstances can (and do) arise with heterosexual marriage. A pregnant heterosexual woman who marries a man who is not the biological father of her child (or a married woman who conceives a child with a man other than her own husband) will give birth to a child with one mother, one biological father, and one legal father. In fact, of all women with two or more children, 28% of them have conceived the children with two or more men. The “three-parent law” may or may not be a bad law, but it is certainly no reason to oppose same-sex marriage.

Michael PS
September 12th, 2012 | 4:49 am

David Nickol

In the case of heterosexual marriage, the problem was foreseen and prevented by two rules fundamental to the concept of civil marriage (1) The child conceived or born in marriage has the husband for father and (2) « Toute recherche de la paternité est interdite » All investigation of paternity is forbidden.

Accordingly, no question of a “third parent” could arise.

Ray Ingles
September 12th, 2012 | 11:07 am

Michael PS – As has been noted, other jurisdictions reached other conclusions – especially with regard to challenging paternity.