Yesterday, the Massachusetts Senate voted unanimously to pass “An act to ensure legal parentage equality,” better known as the Massachusetts Parentage Act, a historic piece of legislation that will protect LGBTQ+ families, and children born through surrogacy and assisted reproduction, in forming the legal bond of a parent-child relationship.
The bill now awaits final enactment before it heads to Governor Maura Healey’s desk for her signature. Governor Healey has stated strong support for the legislation.
“Today, Massachusetts took a major step forward in ensuring that all families are treated equally under our laws,” said Polly Crozier, Director of Family Advocacy at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders. “We are grateful to the many people, families, and advocates who have fought for years to get to this point. We thank the Senate leadership, Senate Sponsors Senators Julian Cyr and Bruce Tarr, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Jamie Eldridge and the many Senators on both sides of the aisle who voted unanimously to pass the MPA today. With this vote the Massachusetts Senate demonstrated that fairness under the law is for everyone. We look forward to seeing the Massachusetts Parentage Act enacted and signed into law soon.”
The Massachusetts Parentage Act updates Massachusetts statutes to clarify who can be a parent and how to establish parentage. This bill is critical to ensuring that all children can access the security of legal parentage, regardless of the circumstances of their birth, including through assisted reproduction and surrogacy.
Currently, Massachusetts is the only state in New England without comprehensive statutory protections on parentage.
The bill’s bipartisan sponsors include Democrat Senator Julian Cyr, Republican Senator Bruce Tarr, Democrat Representative Sarah Peake, Republican Representative Hannah Kane, and Democratic Representative Kay Khan.
— from a GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders press release
More: glad.org
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