Gay biological fathers to twin boys denied legal parenthood

Jason Hanna and Joe Riggs, the biological gay fathers of twin boys, have been denied legal parenthood by the government

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by Kayleigh Dray |
Published on

Jason Hanna and Joe Riggs are the proud fathers of Lucas and Ethan, who were born in April this year, after they'd connected with a surrogate mother.

However, because Texas has a ban on gay marriage, neither of the men is currently allowed to be on the birth certificates of either boy, nor have they been able to co-adopt.

And this has all been done in spite of the fact that each one of the men is a biological father to one of the babies.

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Only the surrogate mother — who has no biological relationship to the boys, since embryos were transferred to her — is on the birth certificates.

This, essentially, means that neither man is legally defined as a parent to his own child. And, despite the fact that they have DNA tests for proof, they're worried that, if come thing happens to either of them, the twin boys could be separated.

Speaking in an interview with KDFW, Jason said: “On one hand, it’s a little scary because as of right now, we don’t have full parental rights of our own biological children.”**

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READ: AGONY AUNT'S AMAZING RESPONSE TO HOMOPHOBIC MOTHER

Joe added: “Actually, I think that’s what surprised me the most was a family court.

“I guess I expected them to be looking out for the best interest of our kids, and I felt we walked out that day and it wasn’t in the best interest of our kids.”

Jason then explained to SiriusXM Progress that, despite the fact he and Joe provided the court with DNA test results to prove paternity, the Texas judge refused to put two men on one birth certificate.

“As of right now in Texas two men cannot be on the birth certificate.

“So our attorney followed the letter of the law. We petitioned the court. We had DNA testing there [in court] and petitioned the judge to ultimately remove the surrogate mother from the birth certificate, who has no biological ties to the boys.

"We would like each biological dad to be placed on the birth certificate of our own son, and then ultimately proceed to the second-parent adoption. The entire petition was denied.”

Jason added emotionally: “Without [co-adoption], if something happened to either me or Joe we don’t have any legal recourse to keep the other’s biological child.

“The state could come in and separate these two brothers…We want to reiterate how important it is for a state to recognise each family, whether it's same-sex or opposite-sex, and really to ensure everyone has equal protection from the state.”

"Ultimately, we’re talking about is what’s better: one parent or two parents," Joe told KDFW. "For me it’s two parents. It’s a no-brainer."

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Do you agree - should both men be put on the birth certificates of their biological sons? Let us know your thoughts in the Comments Box below now.

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