Arizona Supreme Court: Same-sex couples have same parenting rights as opposite-sex couples

Same-sex spouses have the same parental rights as opposite-sex spouses under Arizona law, the Arizona Supreme Court has ruled.

In a decision in which all seven justices at least partially agreed, the court said the U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing marriage for same-sex couples requires the state to grant same-sex married couples all of the rights as opposite-sex married couples — including in custody sharing and financial child support.

"It would be inconsistent with Obergefell (the U.S. Supreme Court ruling) to conclude that same-sex couples can legally marry but states can then deny them the same benefits of marriage afforded opposite-sex couples," the judges said in their opinion. "Legal parent status is, undoubtedly, a benefit of marriage."

The case is part of ongoing efforts to reinterpret Arizona laws following U.S. Supreme Court rulings granting same-sex couples the right to marry.

It focused on parental rights and whether the state's so-called "paternity" statute is about a marriage certificate or biology.

The Arizona statute addressing parental rights states that "a man is presumed to be the father of a child" if he and the mother were married within 10 months of a child's birth — a period of time covering the gestational period.

Case details

In this case, Kimberly and Suzan McLaughlin married in California in 2008 and later moved to Arizona. Arizona recognized the marriage as retroactively legal following the Obergefell ruling.

The couple decided to have a baby via artificial insemination using an anonymous sperm donor. Kimberly got pregnant and they had a son in 2011. Kimberly worked outside the home as a physician while Suzan stayed home and cared for the boy, according to court records.

Two years later, the couple separated and Kimberly moved out with the child. She cut off contact between the boy and Suzan, according to court records.

In the lawsuit, Claudia Work, the attorney for Suzan McLaughlin, argued the Arizona parental-rights statute must have a gender-neutral interpretation to protect the rights of all non-biological parents.

"If a child is born during a marriage, then the husband or, our contention is, the spouse is deemed to be the legal second parent unless proven otherwise," she has said. "It's not an issue of biology, it's an issue of equal treatment."

Keith Berkshire, the attorney for Kimberly McLaughlin, disagreed, saying the statute wording designating the 10-month span to reflect gestation clearly shows the statute was intended to apply only to a biological father.

Supreme Court decision

The ruling resolves a split in opinions from the Arizona Court of Appeals.

The appeals court ruled in this case that Suzan did have parenting rights. It ruled in a separate case that the non-biological parent did not.

The Supreme Court ruling stated that extending equal rights to same-sex couples helps "ensure that all children — whether born to same sex or opposite-sex spouses — are not impoverished" and assures children have meaningful parenting time with both parents.

"We ensure all children, and not just children born to opposite-sex spouses,

have financial and emotional support from two parents and strong family

units," the ruling states.

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Suzan McLaughlin, in a released statement, said she is "relieved and overjoyed that the court recognized me as my son’s mother. All I have ever wanted is to be there for him like any mother would.”

The National Center for Lesbian Rights, whose attorneys helped represent Suzan McLaughlin, called the ruling a significant win for same-sex spouses.

The Legislature's turn

The court's decision also had some stern words for the Republican-led Arizona Legislature, which has essentially refused to update hundreds of state statutes — now in violation of federal law — that refer to married couples as a man and a woman or a husband and a wife.

"Through legislative enactments and rulemaking, our coordinate branches of government can forestall unnecessary litigation and help ensure that Arizona law guarantees same-sex spouses the dignity and equality the Constitution requires ― namely, the same benefits afforded couples in opposite-sex marriages," the ruling states.