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Arizona Supreme Court to rule on same-sex parental rights

Posted at 1:43 PM, Apr 19, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-20 11:39:01-04

The Arizona Supreme Court has agreed to review the case of a same-sex spouse who had been granted parental rights over her ex-wife's biological child. 

The Arizona Capitol Times reported Tuesday that the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled in October Suzan McLaughlin is entitled to the same parental rights, as if she were a man, to the biological daughter of Kimberly McLaughlin, her ex-wife. 

The couple had entered into a joint parenting agreement and declared they were equal parents. But when their son was nearly 2, Kimberly McLaughlin moved out of their home, taking the boy with her and cutting off contact with Suzan McLaughlin. 

She filed for divorce and parenting time and a trial judge cleared the case to proceed. But Kimberly McLaughlin appealed, arguing Suzan McLaughlin was not a "parent" as defined by state law.