SW News: The Supreme Court of the American state of Michigan said on Monday that a woman can ask for custody of the child of her partner who was born before their same-sex relationship no longer came to exist.

Michigan’s top court ruled in a parental dispute involving one Carrie Pueblo and his ex-partner Rachel Haas over the latter’s son. The child was born to Hass in 2008 and Pueblo helped bring him up. She said that they would have been married at that time had the state allowed same-sex couples to wed. She argued in court that this would have permitted her to have a formal role in the boy’s upbringing even if the marriage ended in separation. It was in 2015 that same-sex marriage was prohibited in the state.

Even after their relationship came to an end, both Pueblo and Haas were together responsible for bringing up the boy. However, in 2017, Haas began telling her former partner not to have any contact with the kid. In the 5-2 opinion, Justice Megan Cavanagh said, “While the decision in this case likely affects few, it is, nonetheless, important for what it represents.”

She added that "Justice does not depend on family composition; all who petition for recognition of their parental rights are entitled to equal treatment under the law.”

Pueblo can now have recourse to a Kalamazoo County Court and try to prove that she would have married Haas at a time when the boy was born by means of in-vitro fertilization. With the consent of the judge, she can then be scrutinized for custody and parenting time, according to the state supreme court.
In April Haas’ attorney told the Supreme Court to remain on the sidelines and permit the legislature to change the law. In his dissent, Justice Brian Zahra gave his assent to that position.