The birth mother of a 7-year-old Virginia girl must transfer custody of the child to the woman's former lesbian partner, a Vermont judge ruled.
Vermont Family Court Judge William Cohen ordered Lisa Miller of Winchester, Va., to turn over daughter Isabella to Janet Jenkins of Fair Haven at 1 p.m. Friday at the Virginia home of Jenkins' parents.
Miller and Jenkins were joined in a Vermont civil union in 2000. Isabella was born to Miller through artificial insemination in 2002. The couple broke up in 2003, and Miller moved to Virginia, renounced homosexuality and became an evangelical Christian.
Cheryl Hanna, a professor of constitutional law at Vermont Law School said,"I think the underlying thing is the fact that they are a lesbian couple doesn't mean that the court's going to treat this any differently than if they were a heterosexual couple," she said.
Previously the ACLU tried to have mom thrown in jail.
On the day Virginia’s same-sex marriage ban took effect; Miller asked a Frederick County, Va., judge to nullify the visitation order. The judge agreed, ruling that Miller alone had parental rights.
This is a travesty of justice. First of all, both Lisa and Janet lived in VA. They travelled to Vermont and obtained a civil union, then returned to VA. Isabella was conceived and born in VA. Later, they three moved to Vermont, with Lisa (and her child) leaving after 13 months. So much of the press makes it seem like she fled to VA because it had "better" laws from a traditional viewpoint. Here are some facts: Isabella went on one unsupervised visit to Vermont. She said Janet forced her to bathe naked with her. She began wetting the bed. She had nightmares. Also, over the five years or so of this battle, Janet has sent ZERO Christmas or birthday cards to Isabella. She views this little girl as nothing more than a prize to be won for the homosexual cause.
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