Lesbian Woman Wins Court Battle Over IVF Daughter's Custody

A lesbian woman has won the court battle against her former partner over their daughter who was conceived via IVF treatment. The child is now seven years old.

In a report by The Guardian, one of the two women is the little girl's biological mother and sole legal parent while the other considers herself a "de facto" parent.

The former couple called it quits back in 2011, just three years after the child was born through IVF treatment. Judges heard the biological mother the child to Pakistan in early 2014.

The second and "de facto" parent then launched a legal action and consulted the judges for the child to be ordered back to the United Kingdom. Initially, a high court judge and court of appeal judges decided they did not have the authority to make the order as the girl was not in the UK during the legal proceedings; thus, she was not a habitual resident of the country.

However, Sky News reported it was overturned and ruled on Wednesday that the girl had been habitually resident, allowing the second woman's appeal. Attorney Maria Wright of Freemans Solicitors who represented her said in a statement, "[She] feared the consequence of the high court and court of appeal's decisions was that [the child] would lose her relationship with her parent entirely."

According to the Independent, the woman who wanted the child's return in the UK expressed her relief about the the decision of the Supreme Court. "It has been a very long process to get to this result, and I am delighted that someone will now be able to look at what is actually in (the child's) best interests," she said in a statement released via Freemans Solicitors.

The case will now be returned to the high court where a judge will decide what happens next. There are no details available yet as to when the announcement for the next steps to be taken will be released. None of the mothers and the child have been named in the case. 

Tags

Lesbian woman, England, London, IVF, daughter, biological mother, Pakista, de facto parent

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