ONTARIO COURT'S PERILOUS DECISION RECOGNIZES THREE PARENTS
January 3, 2007

In a unanimous judgment written by Justice Marc Rosenberg on behalf of Chief Justice RoyMcMurtry and Justice JeanMarc Labrosse, the Ontario Court of Appeal chose to exercise it's parens patriae jurisdiction to "fill a legislative gap" and extend a child's parentage to three individuals the biological mother and father as well as the mother's lesbian partner. This court has now recognized a "threeparent family" and opened the way to introduce many legal variations of the family unit.

Ruth Ross, Executive Director of Christian Legal Fellowship, a member of the intervenor Alliance for Family & Marriage, states, "There remain outstanding questions as to whether a family comprised of three legal parents is in the best interests of the child. The full implications of thismajor, precedent setting change have not been thoroughly examined. Historically, policy decisions have been left to legislators who are charged with this responsibility."

This decision has international significance as it takes the lead into unstable territory most other countries have not ventured into redefining the family as we know it to include three parents. the rest (pdf)