Three Parents Case
The Supreme Court of Canada decided on September 13 not to hear the appeal of the Three Parent Case (AA v BB) from Ontario. In its decision, the court indicated it was not deciding whether or not the case presented "issues worthy of consideration by this Court or whether the Court of Appeal's judgment is well founded." The decision was only in regard to whether or not the Alliance for Marriage and the Family (AMF), of which the EFC was a member, could appeal the decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal since the AMF was an intervener in this case and not a party.
The parties had all consented to the request for third parent status and the Attorney-General of Ontario had not defended the legislation, resulting in the request by the AMF to be an intervener in the case.
The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) again expresses the urgent need for full study of the impact on future generations when long standing social policies are changed to suit adult desires.
On January 2, 2007, the Ontario Court of Appeal released its decision in this case, recognizing that a child may have more than two legal parents.
While the Court of Appeal's decision addresses the rights of those involved in this particular family situation (a challenge under the Charter was rejected), the ruling will also establish precedent for future court decisions. Given this reality, there remain several unanswered questions, such as: How many legal parents may each child now have? What will determine the number of parents a child will legally have: sexual orientation of the parents, divorce and remarriage or the breakdown of a long term relationship? Will the number of parents allowed per child impact the number of spouses permitted in a marriage?
Background
Several years ago, a lesbian couple decided that one of them would have a baby. They enlisted the help of a male friend and one of the women conceived. The biological mother and father are named on the child's birth certificate. The other woman applied to the court to be added as a third "parent" for the child. There is no precedent for a child to have three listed legal parents and Ontario’s Children’s Law Reform Act specifically states that a child may have one or two registered legal parents.
The EFC was granted intervener status in this case as part of a coalition of Christian pro-family groups. At issue in this case is the definition and understanding of "parent" and "family." The EFC intervened in this case to protect the rights of children.
What is at stake? With a rise in family breakdown, more children are being raised in situations that are not their biological mother and father. Currently, if parents divorce and remarry, there is no legal way for all the adults in parental roles to be recognized as legal parents of the child. It has been the consistent societal opinion that recognition of multiple numbers of parents would be confusing for children. The recognition of a third legal parent in this case opens the doors to a wide variety of adults wanting to have their family situations reassessed. Children could be subjected to numerous applications from various adults wanting to have their "parenthood" recognized. If such a dramatic change is to be made, it should be made by legislatures (our elected representatives), not by the courts. The decision of the Supreme Court of Canada places this issue squarely back with the Provincial Parliament of Ontario.
The EFC is convinced that government must properly examine the long-term social ramifications of such fundamental changes in the legal understanding of family. Therefore we will continue to express the urgent need for a study of the impact of this and other decisions regarding the nature of family on generations yet to come.
Resources:
Actions:
- Pray that the Ontario Provincial Parliament will take positive action to affirm the two parent family in law.
- Consciously work to support, affirm and strengthen families within your church family and larger community.
- If you live in Ontario, write a letter to your MPP raising your concerns about the Court's decision and the government's role in it. For help writing see our tips for writing letters to government and our sample letter.