Supporting the Rhode Island Parentage Act: Equal Access to Family Protections

“I am here today to support the Parentage Act,” said six-year old South Kingstown resident Dayja Holland. “My friend Teddy has two moms and I think it would be good if both moms could be on the birth record. Two dads or two moms is the same as having one mom and a dad as long as they both love you. Please pass this bill out of the committee today. Thank you.“

The Rhode Island Parentage Act, Senate Bill 2136, was passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, to the surprise and delight of advocates who have been pushing for this bill to pass for at least three years. The bill moves onto the Senate floor later today, where it is expected to pass, as it did last year.

The Rhode Island Parentage Act would repeal current state law regarding paternity and replace it with a more comprehensive parentage act that provides procedures establishing parentage, genetic testing, surrogacy agreements and assisted reproduction. This will be a tremendous help to same sex parents, who, under the present law, have to go through an onerous adoption process after the child’s birth to establish parentage.

“The parent-child relationship is so important in the life of a child,” writes GLAD (GBLTQ Legal Advocates and Defender) on their website in support of the bill. “The support and stability that comes from a legally secure parent-child relationship provides the core and foundation of a child’s well-being. In Rhode Island, not every child has equal access to establishing this core legal relationship. Rhode Island family laws are OUTDATED, leaving children vulnerable. With laws that haven’t been updated since the 1970s, there are substantial gaps in protections for Rhode Island children. The Rhode Island Parentage Act (RIPA) is legislation designed to fill those gaps, to recognize and respect the diversity of Rhode Island families, and to ensure that all children in Rhode Island have equal access to family protections.”

After passage in the Senate, the bill still needs to get through the House before it can move to Governor Gina Raimondo’s desk to be signed into law. The House bill has died in committee the last few years.

Here’s all the video from last week’s hearing, and the surprise vote that took the bill out of committee and sent it to the Senate floor:

“I am here today to support the Parentage Act,” said six-year old South Kingstown resident Dayja Holland. “My friend Teddy has two moms and I think it would be good if both moms could be on the birth record. Two dads or two moms is the same as having one mom and a dad as long as they both love you. Please pass this bill out of the committee today. Thank you.”