Ohio appellate court considers
second-parent adoption case
ALL
DRINKS
HALF
PRICE
dj edward kirkland = hi-nrg dance music
plus: sexy hott box dancers | $5 / $7
■ /g december 2nd-
r/ LfTI '''''
^V/K/ to attend a very
^ special installtrient pf triythos’
most luxurious evenint) -/C^ednesday
\ it's survival of'the hippest, so
slip into something deCiident and
quench you/lust for life with our
, / $1 premium vodkii
^ then diyrS into the t)elly of the beast
celebrating the rriaiden voyage of
y the VIP basement lounge
/
/andy k.istanas spins in mam room
/ while edward kirklcjnd turns out the
/ disco trash jiim in the oracle
bring this ad to enjoy a $2 reduction
, upon entrance
by Peg Byron
Special to Q-Notes
CHICAGO—^An Ohio appellate court is
considering its first lesbian second-parent adop
tion case which could provide better protec
tions for an eight-year-old girl and eventually
for children of many other lesbian and gay par
ents, Lambda Legal Defense and Education
Fund said.
On November 10, the Ohio Court of Ap
peals heard arguments for In re Adoption of Jane
Doe. Patricia Logue, managing attorney of
Lambdas Midwest Regional Office argued on
behalf of the mothers, “Trlsh Smith” and
“Marcia Jones.”
“The child will benefit from the added se
curity that legal recognition of a parental rela
tionship provides, including both mothers hav
ing full authority to make medical decisions and
giving their daughter many other legal, finan
cial and health protections,” she added. Trish,
Marcia and Jane Doe are the names the moth
ers and daughter are using in the case.
Second-parent adoptions allow a person to
adopt the biological or adoptive children of his
or her partner without terminating the first
parent’s legal status as a parent. Such adoptions
are available to non-gay stepparents, and in an
increasing number of states, to lesbian, gay and
other unmarried couples as well. In 1995,
Lambda won similar second-parent adoption
cases in courts in Illinois and New York.
Trish and Marcia, who have been in a com
mitted relationship since 1981, jointly planned
to bring their daughter Jane into the world via
alternative insemination. Responsibility for rais
ing Jane, now eight, has been shared by both
women since her birth.
In 1996, Trish and Marcia filed a petition
to adopt and brought a declaratory judgment
action in the Summit County Court of Com
mon Pleas asking that Trish be able to adopt
Jane while allowing Marcia, the biological
mother, to remain a legal parent as well. A court-
appointed representative for the child told the
court that Jane would benefit from the adop
tion and her home appeared stable, but argued
against the adoption because she thought the
law did not allow it.
The trial court agreed with the representa
tive and denied the requested relief, saying that
the Ohio Adoption Act requires termination
of Marcia’s parental status before Trish could
adopt. Lambda’s brief on the appeal argues that
the court does have the power under many pre
viously decided cases to grant a second-parent
adoption without disturbing the ongoing par
ent-child relationship between Marcia and Jane.
“We hope the appeals court rules in our fa
vor so that children of lesbian and gay couples
in Ohio can receive the same protections for
their families that other children take for
granted,” said Logue. “The court can protect
Jane’s family and we hope it does.”
Lambda’s co-counsel in the appeal, Peter T.
Calhoon, of Buckingham, Doolittle and
Burroughs, and Ohio attorney James B.
Chapman, represented Trish and Marcia in the
trial court. Susan Becker of Cleveland is coun
sel for amici National Association of Social
Workers, American Academy of Adolescent and
Child Psychiatry, Ohio Human Rights Bar As
sociation, Ohio Psychological Association, and
the Lesbian/Gay Community Service Center
of Greater Cleveland, who filed a brief in sup
port of the adoption. ▼
Ad opposes animal HIV experiments
by Wanda Pico
Special to Q-Notes
LOS ANGELES, CA—British gay rights
and AIDS activist Peter Tatchell joined Linda
Blair and other celebrities at a recent Holly
wood gala for the launch of a new advertising
campaign denouncing health organizations that
fund animal experiments.
At the event, Tatchell charged that animal-
based research is “scientifically flawed” and
“hindering the fight against AIDS.”
The ad campaign is sponsored by People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and
features a green-eyed, head-spinning Linda Blair
along with the caption: “Animal Experiments
Make My Head Spin” — a reference to her
Oscar-nominated role in The Exorcist vAiicti is
being re-released to coincide with the 25th an
niversary of its original launch in 1973.
The advertisement was unveiled at a pre-
Halloween PETA gala screening of The Exor
cist at the world famous Mann’s Chinese The
atre on Hollywood Blvd.
Blair and Tatchell were joined at the unveil-
ing by gothic horror queen Elvira and Joaquin
Phoenix — brother of the late River Phoenix
and one of Hollywood’s hottest new stars.
Tatchell asserted, “Animal experiments are
undermining — not helping — the fight
against AIDS. Protease inhibitor drugs have
prolonged the lives of many people with HIV.
The availability, however, of these life-saving
treatments was delayed for four years after test
trials resulted in the death of laboratory ani
mals. During this four-year delay, tens of thou
sands of people with HIV — who could have
benefited from protease inhibitors — died.
Many might be alive now if researchers had not
made the mistaken assumption that data taken
from animal studies can be applied to humans.”
Animal-rights advocates claim that “HIV is
a uniquely human disease” and “all the key
breakthroughs in AIDS treatment have been
based on the interaaion of HIV with human
cells, not the cells of other species.” They argue
that some of the nation’s top AIDS researchers
now concede that animal studies have little or
no relevance to the understanding of HIV in
people.
“Animal experimentation is bad science.
Research findings with other species cannot be
generalized to humans, because animals and
people are very different biologically, as evi
denced by the way protease inhibitors can kill
dogs and rats, but save the lives of people with
AIDS,” said Tatchell. T
Calhoun Hiouse
your ^ome in Charleston s
historic 'OistrCct
Close to
fine restaurants,
great shopping and
exciting nightlife.
273 Calhoun Street
Charleston, SC 29401
(843) 722-7341
chs65@aol.com