Ohio High Court Gives Biological Mom Exclusive Custody in Same-Sex Dispute
A same-sex custody battle in Ohio ended on Tuesday, with full and exclusive rights granted to the biological birth mother and not her partner.
Justices ruled in a 4-3 decision that biological mother Kelly Mullen did not agree to share legal custody of her daughter Lucy with her former partner, Michelle Hobbs, even though Hobbs was named a co-partner on several medical documents and recognized as a parent “in every way.”
Mullen signed health care power of attorney documents and also nominated Hobbs as the child’s guardian in a will. Hobbs also helped financially support the child starting from the in vitro procedure and acted as a parent throughout the relationship.
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But when the couple split two years after Lucy was born, Mullen moved out of the shared house with her daughter, voiding all documents declaring Hobbs as a co-parent.
Mullen also refused to allow Hobbs to have any contact with the toddler. Hobbs then responded by filing for legal custody and was granted by the Hamilton County Juvenile Court custody because of her shared parental duties and documents recognizing Hobbs as a co-parent.
But the Supreme Court of Ohio disagreed and upheld lower court rulings that Mullen was the only parent to the child, protecting the biological parent’s rights.
The court ruled that that the two women were in a revocable relationship and that Mullen did not create a permanent shared custody agreement with Hobbs, according to Liberty Counsel.
Essentially, nothing had been officially written in a binding legal contract.
“Co-parenting is not synonymous with an agreement by the biological parent to permanently relinquish sole custody in favor of shared legal parenting,” the court revealed.
“Co-parenting can have many different meanings and can refer to many different arrangements and degrees of permanency,” Justice Robert R. Cupp wrote. “Hobbs was a nonparent under Ohio law despite her active role in raising and caring for the child.”
Justice Paul Pfeifer, one of the justices against the majority ruling, stated, according to The Columbus Dispatch, “Besides Hobbs and Lucy, common decency is another victim in this case.”
“Mullen was able to use the law as a weapon because same-sex co-parents lack legal rights. The law has not caught up to our culture, and this court has failed to craft a rule that addresses reality.”
Christopher Clark, one of Hobbs’ lawyers and a senior staff attorney at Lambda Legal also shared Pfeifer’s sentiments.
“The court disregarded the overwhelming evidence that Ms. Mullen agreed to parent Lucy with Ms. Hobbs ‘in every way.’ Regrettably, the decision severs a parent-child relationship between Lucy and the person she knows to be her mother.”
“All Ohio families should be alarmed by this, as a child with a non-biological parent could be taken from their mom or dad in the event of a separation.”
But Matthew D. Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel believes that the ruling was a great victory for parental rights.
“A person who is neither the biological parent nor an adoptive parent cannot be a de facto parent by merely alleging an emotional bond to the child.”
Though Hobbs had temporary visitation rights during the legal battle, it is likely to be revoked now that the case is over.
