According to the will of the responsible ministers, it should soon be possible for many lesbian couples in Germany for both women to be legally recognized as mothers from the birth of a child. “So far, only the woman giving birth is registered as the mother, and the second woman only has a lengthy adoption process,” said Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus to the newspapers of the Funke media group.
“That has nothing to do with justice and diversity in society,” said the Green politician.
Paus explained that in many areas society is ahead of politics. “In addition to the family made up of father, mother and child, we also have many other family forms. These families do not feel sufficiently represented by the current laws”.
It is now a matter of “presenting solutions for lesbian couples with children that do justice to the women concerned” with the Ministry of Justice. She wants to get the so-called co-motherhood for lesbian couples off the ground as quickly as possible.
Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann had previously spoken out in favor of a new regulation and was “confident” that there would be a corresponding draft law this year. “We want to create rules so that children have a legally secure relationship with both parents from birth – and nobody has to feel like a second-class parent,” said the FDP politician to the newspapers of the Funke media group (Saturday). Experts speak of so-called co-motherhood.
First of all, a modern legal framework should be created “for uncomplicated cases”, explained Buschmann. This applies, for example, to births after a registered sperm donation. For other situations in which lesbian couples have children, there is still a need for discussion in the federal government, he conceded. “Not all cases can be lumped together.”
The legal situation can be more complicated, for example, if lesbian couples receive a man’s sperm donation informally, for example from a friend or acquaintance. In such a case, the biological father would have rights that he would first have to relinquish before the lesbian partner would be able to adopt.
In the coalition agreement, the SPD, Greens and FDP have agreed on reforms in family law. Agreements on legal parenthood, parental custody, rights of access and maintenance should be made possible before conception. “When a child is born into the marriage of two women, both are automatically the legal mothers of the child, unless otherwise agreed.”
