'Three parents' case heard in Ontario
By Jim Coggins

THE ONTARIO Court of Appeal has heard a case that could change the definition of the family and have widespread implications for family law.

Dubbed the "three parents case", it was originally heard in the Superior Court of Justice in 2003. It concerns a lesbian who asked a male friend to donate sperm to help her have a child through assisted human reproduction techniques.

After the child was born, the mother asked the court to have her lesbian partner also listed as a mother of the child under the declaration of parenthood provision of Ontario's Children's Law Reform Act (CLRA). This would mean the child would have one father -- the biological father, who wants to continue to have a relationship with the child -- and two mothers.

However, the judge ruled that the law only allows for two parents and he did not have the authority to change the law. The case was then appealed to the Ontario Court of Appeal. the rest