We recently posted about a new movie that was being made with Vince Vaughn.  Delivery man is a remake of a Canadian film, Starbuck, which tells the story of one man who donated sperm as a young man and through an error at the clinic, he inadvertantly became an anonymous donor and biological father to over 500 children. The what appears to be a comedy with some heavy dramatic injections is set to be released later this year. The film is an exaggeration of a rare possibility but opens up the dialogue of, “what if?”

With so many court battles around the world occurring where children of anonymous sperm donors are trying to legally find their biological parents, this movie couldn’t come at a better time. Legal cases of donors seeking out parental rights are also in the news. Click the link below to watch the first preview of Delivery Man.

Delivery Man Preview

The actor most famous for his role in “Lost Boys,” has been in the tabloids for months now as he tries to continue to gain parental rights to his son who was born to his ex-girlfriend via artificial insemination. At the time, he had agreed to donate his sperm to her in order for her to conceive. After a long legal battle, he is now trying to change state law to allow sperm donors, in certain situations, to become legal parents and share custody of the children that result from their seed.

Proponents of Senate Bill 115 say it will close a legal loophole that forbids certain sperm donors from being recognized as fathers when an unmarried woman is impregnated with their sperm.

The other side says the proposal could grant parenting rights to sperm donors against the wishes of a child’s legal parents. They say the bill is an attempt by Patric to overturn a court ruling that he lost.

“This bill should never be heard by the Legislature,” said Richard Harris, a lobbyist representing Schreiber and her family.

“You don’t use the Legislature to interfere in a court case just because you’re some Hollywood schmo.”

Read more here.

It appears the UK is set to become the first nation to allow the creation of babies from DNA of three individuals. Sounds absurd right? Well, there is a reason for the new procedure that could potentially begin in a couple of years. Mitochondrial disease, a disease that is passed on from mother to child is behind the controversial news in the UK. Experts say that a three-person IVF could eliminate the potentially fatal disease. Mitochondria are the tiny, biological “power stations” that give the body energy. They are passed from a mother, through the egg, to her child.

Defective mitochondria affect one in every 6,500 babies. This can leave them starved of energy, resulting in muscle weakness, blindness, heart failure and death in the most extreme cases. Research suggests that using mitochondria from a donor egg can prevent the diseases. It is envisaged that up to 10 couples a year would benefit from the treatment. However, it would result in babies having DNA from two parents and a tiny amount from a third donor as the mitochondria themselves have their own DNA.

Those rallying against are more concerned behind the regulations of the procedure which are currently being considered with draft legislation expected in 2014. The fear of “designer babies” is what the regulations would be preventing. Also, the identity and privacy of the third donor is being considered as am important factor down the road. With so many legal cases currently taking place with anonymous sperm donors, potentially similar cases could arrise from this 3-person IVF scenario.

For the full BBC News report, click here.

When considering whether a parenting partnership is right for you, you should really consider the factor that you will be sharing the child-raising process with someone who is a non-romantic partner. In your head, right now, it may sound like a dream – having someone to help out and take part of the responsibility of raising your child. But remember, you don’t know exactly how you will feel once the child comes into your life. You should take some time to think about if you are truly ready and prepared to address any changes in your feelings in the future. It’s also important to take into consideration the feelings of your parenting partner. He or she might also have a change of feelings after the child is born, or comes into your lives. Sharing the responsibility of raising a child, however you and your parenting partner agree to do so, is a lifelong commitment.

Have you read our First 10 Questions to Ask Yourself When Considering a Parenting Partnership? Our Learn section is a good resource for everything you may need or want to know about parenting partnerships, including legal, medical and financial questions.

When raising a child, it’s very easy to focus on the behaviors. Why are they doing this or acting a certain way? We immediately place blame on the child and usually get upset, whether that’s in front of the child or not. But what if we took the time to look beyond the behavior? What is causing it and how can possibly talking about it help remedy it? Writer Carla Naumburg documented her personal story for the Huffington Post and explains her journey of realization.

My little girl cried; the couch is her preferred spot in our living room. I was conflicted. I felt terrible about how upset my daughter was, but I was at the end of my rope and I felt like I needed to make a point. I needed my daughter to understand that there are consequences to her actions.

She looked at me through her tears and said, “I wish you wouldn’t get angry at me, Mommy.”

It took everything I had not to burst into tears myself, as I knew that would upset my daughter even more. I also knew I had done the wrong thing, but I wasn’t sure how to fix it.

A critically acclaimed documentary of this year is continuing to screen around the country and is currently set to screen at the Philadelphia Q-Fest and Outfest – Los Angeles. TWO documents the 12-year journey of songwriter Desmond Child and his partner of 24-years, Curtis Shaw and how they connected with the woman who carried their twin sons. During this time of progression for the LGBT community within the United States, real life stories like this one help show the world that families come in all different forms.

Father Curtis Shaw wrote more about the film for Huffington Post:

Our emotional film, which is narrated by Roman and Nyro (11 years old), features a cameo appearance by their godfather Jon Bon Jovi and by family friend Deepak Chopra. TWO won the Audience Favorite Award for U.S. Documentary at the Nashville Film Festival this past April where it played to two sold-out audiences of movie-lovers, media and friends, and also won the HBO ‘Home Town Hero Award’ for director Heather Winters at the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. From preconception through the boys’ first 10 years, TWO is the personal and powerful story of how our lives became inextricably woven together in magical and unexpected ways. TWO is testament to the universal power and ultimate triumph of love — that it is love that makes a family, affirming modern families may be modern in their making, but timelessly human at their core. We’re just living our lives day by day, having the same ups and downs as any other family, but we have an interesting perspective… our kids don’t see any difference between our family and their friend’s families. We know that all parents want the same things for their children… to be happy, to live a life full of purpose and full of compassion, kindness and love.

Roman and Nyro were born in Miami Beach, Fla., but now call Nashville, Tenn., home. My partner, Desmond Child is one of the world’s most successful songwriters (‘Livin on a Prayer,’ ‘Waking Up in Vegas,’ ‘Dude Looks Like a Lady’ and ‘Livin’ La Vida Loca’) and can really choose to work anywhere, but Nashville is where we’ve chosen to live and where we’ve built a supportive, diverse community of friends. Even when we’ve ventured out of our protected ‘circle of safety’ into the local youth-sporting community, we have discovered that the people here support diversity and recognize us as a family as legitimate as any other.

The Kansas Craigslist sperm donor case continues and proves to continue to have hurdles. The man who donated sperm via a craigslist ad to a lesbian couple has been the subject of a very extensive court case. After the lesbian couple broke up, the biological mother, in need of financial assistance from the state, applied and was denied. The state felt the sperm donor should be held responsible for child support. This has been an on-going case with so many new developments over the months. This new report is about the judge proceeding over the case. Read below:

Shawnee County District Court Judge Mary Mattivi has denied a motion to recuse herself from the trial of a Craigslist sperm donor.

On May 17, Benoit Swinnen, who represents the sperm donor, filed a motion with the court asking Mattivi to disqualify herself from the case.

In a letter dated June 12, Mattivi wrote: “The court heard arguments of counsel on June 5, 2013, and took the matter under advisement. After consideration of the motion, affidavit and arguments of counsel, the court hereby denies the motion.”

In the Craigslist case, the state contends William Marotta, a Topeka man who answered a Craigslist ad in which two Topeka women were seeking a sperm donor, is a father owing child support for the care of a 3-year-old girl born to one of the women.

Marotta and the same-sex female couple he provided the sperm to say he simply is a sperm donor and has no financial responsibility for the child’s care.

Grounds to seek recusal of a judge are:

■ The judge was a lawyer in the case before being appointed as judge.

■ The judge is “otherwise interested” in the action.

■ The judge is related to one of the people involved in the case.

■ The judge is a material witness in the action.

■ The party filing the affidavit believes that due to “personal bias, prejudice or interest” by the judge, the party can’t get a fair and impartial trial or enforcement of post-judgment remedies.

The defense’s June 17 affidavit, which became public record after the judge denied the motion to recuse herself, states: “The court appears to have set a procedural context where it has turned its back on free and open discourse, due process, and judicial independence and appears to have prejudged the outcome of the matter.”

The affidavit also states, “The court appears to advocate for the state. For all purposes, the court has set on tracks a procedural train destined to wreck a fair opportunity for the respondent, the child and the intended mother to be heard.”

The child’s interests are being ignored by the court in the process, the affidavit states.

“The court should not give the appearance of bias and prejudgement, the court should not give the appearance of muzzling strong advocacy and should not seek to derail an argument before the litigant has an opportunity to present and argue his case,” the document states.

The defense believes that on account of “personal bias or prejudice” the orders and decisions of the court “that a child must have parents of different gender, or that a genetic relationship trumps all other relationships and considerations by law, respondent cannot obtain a fair and impartial trial,” the affidavit states.

Timothy Keck, designated lead co-counsel for the state, filed a response June 18, stating: “Judge Mattivi has presumably examined her conscious and determined that the allegations of bias and prejudice are false and nonexistent. There should be great deference given this determination by Judge Mattivi.”

Keck also wrote: “The judges of each division should be allowed to control their respective dockets and set a path for a case without being subjected to allegations of bias and prejudice.”

By Ann Marie Bush

News Source

The Disney Channel is currently casting to fill a role of a their first LGBT characters. This is monumental for the company who has typically distanced themselves from anything that could prove to be controversial. TV Guide reports that a 2014 episode of Good Luck Charlie will include a lesbian couple:

In the storyline, parents Amy and Bob Duncan (Leigh-Allyn Baker and Eric Allan Kramer) set up a playdate for preschooler Charlie (Mia Talerico) and one of her new friends. When the kid arrives, the Duncans learn that Charlie’s pal has two moms. That’s fine, but the potential new friendship is put to the test as one mom chats with Amy, and the other is stuck listening to Bob’s dull stories.

The playdate is actually the secondary story in the episode, as much of the action will center on Teddy (Bridgit Mendler) and her best friend Ivy, as Ivy prepares to head off to college.

But Disney Channel understands the groundbreaking nature of featuring a same-sex couple on one of its sitcoms and took extra care in crafting the episode. “This particular storyline was developed under the consultancy of child development experts and community advisors,” a Disney Channel spokesperson says. “Like all Disney Channel programming, it was developed to be relevant to kids and families around the world and to reflect themes of diversity and inclusiveness.

Producers are currently casting the couple, with production set for next week. Because the episode will be a part of Good Luck Charlie‘s final season, the characters are only expected to appear in this one episode. Regardless, this is a huge step forward for LGBT visibility in children’s programming.

Although Victorian law states that sperm donors are not considered the father, a new court ruling in Australia has made a landmark decision.

A divorced couple who remained friends decided to conceive via IVF. The man had also signed a document acknowledging he had no legal claim in relation to the child and wished to just be a sperm donor. His ex told the court she always intended to raise the child as a single mum with the man having only an avuncular role. But she permitted regular visits and a bond formed between her son and her ex.

Justice Paul Cronin held the state laws were inconsistent with, and therefore overridden by, federal legislation, which says a parent is a child’s biological parent. Now in their 40s, they remained friends and began IVF treatment in 2008 after the man agreed to donate sperm. The couple kept the parentage of the boy, born in 2010, a secret.

The man attended the birth of the child and visited him regularly, until the relationship between he and his former partner deteriorated in late 2011 after he revealed he had a girlfriend. The judge said the woman had effectively “stonewalled” the man, fearing he “would use his family’s wealth and power” to gain effective control of the child. He said concerns that sperm donors could be considered parents were irrelevant, as legislation did not impose obligations on unknown donors.

The judge said each case could be determined on its own facts. Shared parental responsibility concerning major long-term decisions was in the best interests of the child. The judge granted the father custody in an arrangement that graduated to alternate weekends and half of the school holidays.

Slater & Gordon family law specialist Heather McKinnon said the case was more about the child’s attachment to the biological father than how he was conceived.”The mother relinquished and allowed the child to form a relationship with the man. That is when she waived the rights under the legislation,” she said.

News Source

Reports in the UK show that dads are using technology in order to bond with their children. Some are even finding unique ways of parenting by using mobile phones or tablets. Is this the next generation of parenting? Would you use your tablet or mobile phone to spend quality time with your kid?

According to the report, just under a quarter of dads surveyed in the UK said that they use their tablet to play games with their children in order to bond. One in ten said they would watch Youtube videos together with their children and that they consider that to be spending quality time with one another.

Moms on the other hand prefer the traditional texting method of communication. Almost half of the parents said they have pretended to call the police on their phones to stop their children from acting up. Some even go as far as filming their children’s tantrums and then showing it back to their kids.

With technology at our fingertips, maybe it’s better to embrace the new resources? At least now, helping kids with homework has become much easier do to massive search engines like Google!

Joe Parker, Director of Online at Three, who conducted the research, says, “British families and dads in particular have embraced mobile technology in a bid to facilitate everyday Parenting. From being able to connect to your child at the touch of a button, to helping to answer difficult questions and taking photos to share with friends and family both here and abroad.

“Our research has also found that the mobile internet is allowing parents across the UK to boast about their child’s talent. One in 10 dads has posted a funny video of their child to YouTube in the hope that it will go viral like ‘Charlie Bit My Finger’. Being a fan of the silly stuff, we’re hoping to see more mini YouTube sensations making it big thanks to their digital savvy dads and mums.”

Read more: http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/parenting/parenting-news-dads-are-using-technology-to-bond-with-their-kids-297743.html#ixzz2WwkLxQud