Virtual Library of Newspaper Articles

Court rules lesbians can be co-mothers

Ontario given 12 months to change law
Both women's names to appear on birth record

The Toronto Star, TRACEY TYLER, LEGAL AFFAIRS, REPORTER, June 7, 2006.

A judge has given the Ontario government 12 months to change a law that prevents both partners in a lesbian relationship from being registered as parents on their child's birth record.

The birth registry provisions of the Vital Statistics Act discriminate against lesbian "co-mothers" on the basis of sex and infringe their right to equality under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Justice Paul Rivard of the Superior Court of Justice said in a ruling released yesterday.

There is some evidence the provincial government has been "targeting" lesbian co-mothers for exclusion from Ontario's 137-year-old birth registration system, he said.

Rivard was ruling on an application by four lesbian couples whose attempts to have both partner's names registered as parents on the official birth records of their children were refused by Ontario's deputy registrar.

Their children were conceived through the use of anonymous sperm donors. Although the non-biological mother could be declared a parent if she adopts her partner's child, some found the notion of being required to adopt their own children "immoral."

Evidence in the case "reveals a lot of pain" on the part of lesbian mothers who have not been able to register as their child's parents, Rivard said. For their children, it perpetuates the idea there is something wrong with their families, he added, citing the testimony from one of the couple's daughter.

"I just want my family to be accepted and included, just like everybody else's family."

There are also practical considerations, he said. Those not officially registered as parents may have difficulty obtaining medical treatment or a passport for their child or travelling with them outside the country.

A birth registration is "the foundational document" for every person, and is the basis for obtaining a birth certificate, said lawyer Martha McCarthy, who represented the women.

The current birth registration form, which must be completed within 30 days of a child's birth, allows for the name of one mother and one father. The government said the purpose is to establish a quick and accurate registration of a child's parentage, absent a court order.

But the process is clearly outdated, particularly with the advent of reproductive technology, Rivard said. Evidence showed the government makes no effort to stop non-biological fathers from being registered as parents of children conceived with anonymous sperm donors.

Anonymous egg donors also aren't listed as parents. The court heard expert evidence from John Waye, head of molecular diagnostic genetics at McMaster University, who said the birth registration system doesn't serve as a reliable record of biological parentage.

During the court proceedings, Rivard issued a declaration under the Children's Law Reform Act that each of the co-mothers in the case are the parents of their respective children.

His ruling could be seen as conflicting with a decision by a London, Ont., judge who refused to make a similar declaration in a case involving two lesbian mothers and a father. The Ontario Court of Appeal is scheduled to hear an appeal of that decision in September.

McCarthy said the women in her case may seek to intervene in the appeal.

The Boy Crisis

TEDx Dr Warren Farrell

TEDx - The Boy Crisis: Why Our Boys Are Struggling and What We Can Do About It

One of the foremost speakers and thinkers on gender issues

It's a crisis of education. Worldwide, boys are 50 percent less likely than girls to meet basic proficiency in reading, math, and science.

It's a crisis of mental health. ADHD is on the rise. And as boys become young men, their suicide rates go from equal to girls to six times that of young women.

It's a crisis of fathering. Boys are growing up with less-involved fathers and are more likely to drop out of school, drink, do drugs, become delinquent, and end up in prison.

It's a crisis of purpose. Boys' old sense of purpose-being a warrior, a leader, or a sole breadwinner-are fading. Many bright boys are experiencing a "purpose void," feeling alienated, withdrawn, and addicted to immediate gratification.

So, what is The Boy Crisis? A comprehensive blueprint for what parents, teachers, and policymakers can do to help our sons become happier, healthier men, and fathers and leaders worthy of our respect.

Associated Press

Why boys are in trouble

Boys have been painted as the bad guys in the push to encourage girls to succeed, leaving many young men feeling confused and alienated, wondering what they did wrong

The Associated Press
January 5, 1999

According to psychologist and author William Pollack, 'sports are the one arena in which many of society's traditional strictures about masculinity are often loosened, allowing boys to experience parts of themselves they rarely experience elsewhere.'

When Harvard Medical School psychologist William Pollack administered a test to a group of 150 teenaged boys a few years ago, the results were shocking.

The Boy Crisis Book - Warren Farrell - John Gray

The Boy Crisis Book

The Boy Crisis: Why Our Boys Are Struggling and What We Can Do About It

Authors- Waren Farrell PhD and John Gray PhD

What is the boy crisis?

It's a crisis of education. Worldwide, boys are 50 percent less likely than girls to meet basic proficiency in reading, math, and science.

It's a crisis of mental health. ADHD is on the rise. And as boys become young men, their suicide rates go from equal to girls to six times that of young women.

It's a crisis of fathering. Boys are growing up with less-involved fathers and are more likely to drop out of school, drink, do drugs, become delinquent, and end up in prison.

The Boy Crisis

The War Against Boys: How misguided feminism is harming our young men

Canadian flag
Health Canada Publication

The Invisible Boy: Revisioning the Victimization of Male Children and Teens

"... the existence of a double standard in the care and treatment of male victims, and the invisibility and normalization of violence and abuse toward boys and young men in our society.

Despite the fact that over 300 books and articles on male victims have been published in the last 25 to 30 years, boys and teen males remain on the periphery of the discourse on child abuse.

Few workshops about males can be found at most child abuse conferences and there are no specialized training programs for clinicians. Male-centred assessment is all but non-existent and treatment programs are rare. If we are talking about adult males, the problem is even greater. A sad example of this was witnessed recently in Toronto. After a broadcast of The Boys of St. Vincent, a film about the abuse of boys in a church-run orphanage, the Kids' Help Phone received over 1,000 calls from distraught adult male survivors of childhood sexual abuse. It is tragic in a way no words can capture that these men had no place to turn to other than a children's crisis line."

American Psychological Association

American Psychological Association
Dating Violence Statistics in the United States

Nearly one in 10 girls and one in 20 boys say they have been raped or experienced some other form of abusive violence on a date, according to a study released Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association.

The mean T-shirt: From the Stupid Factory

Todd Goldman says his popular boy-bashing T-shirts are simply funny.

So why are retailers having second thoughts? Read More ..

Why boys are in trouble

Boys have been painted as the bad guys in the push to encourage girls to succeed, leaving many young men feeling confused and alienated, wondering what they did wrong

The Associated Press

When Harvard Medical School psychologist William Pollack administered a test to a group of 150 teenaged boys a few years ago, the results were shocking.

Where the boys are

The Globe and Mail
February 1, 2003

Academically, boys across the country are lagging behind the girls, but a Montreal public school has seen dramatic improvement by separating the sexes in classes. It allows teachers to tailor curriculum and style to suit each sex. The result? The number going on to college has nearly doubled. INGRID PERITZ reports

MONTREAL -- The teenage girls at James Lyng High School like to flirt with boys. They like to tease them, joke with them, even date them sometimes. But attend class with them? As the giggling girls in one math class this week might say, "Gross."

Luckily, they don't have to. Coed James Lyng splits boys and girls up at the classroom door. The division of the sexes is credited with helping turn a faltering inner-city high school into an education success story.