In Oklahoma, a three-way struggle for parental rights is being waged. Images courtesy of Kris Williams (left) and Kiley Alexis with HV Littles (right)
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correct the description of the court verdict. We regret the mistake.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — An Oklahoma custody case has drawn national attention.
On Monday, an Oklahoma County judge ruled on part of the case that is being closely followed by family law experts and members of the LGBTQ community across the country.
The ruling gave a sperm donor parental rights to a boy raised by a lesbian couple.
“His mother,” Kris Williams explained.
She told KFOR Tuesday that the Oklahoma Seventh Circuit Court could not strip her of that title.
Man fights for behind-the-scenes wages from fast-food chain
She claims she is still the mother of the child she and wife Rebekah Wilson raised together. Although Judge Lynne McGuire ruled Monday that she is not the mother and that sperm donor Harlan Vaughn is the legal parent.
“I guess I’m still in shock,” Williams said of the verdict.
Court documents state that Wilson entered into a sperm donation agreement with Vaughn in September 2018 and that Williams was not incorporated into or referred to in the agreement.
Several non-medically assisted home inseminations took place over the weekend of December 7-9, 2018, resulting in Wilson’s pregnancy.
Wilson and Williams married on June 1, 2019 when Wilson was six months pregnant.
‘It’s like my lifeline’: Bad gas at Anadarko gas station leaves several drivers without their cars
When the child was born in August 2019, both Wilson and Williams were listed as mothers on the birth certificate, and the couple raised the boy for just over two years until their marriage fell apart.
In November 2021, Wilson obtained a victim protection order against Williams, and she and the boy moved in with Vaughn.
The court documents continued the timeline by saying that on Jan. 18, 2022, Vaughn filed a motion to establish paternity and establish custody and visitation rights.
The ensuing court case drew national attention, with LGBTQ+ experts across the country closely monitoring the divorce/custody case as it could have ramifications in other states.
On Monday, Judge McGuire ruled that she could not form a mother-child relationship because Williams did not give birth to the child and did not adopt the child.
The court ruling cited Oklahoma’s Uniform Parentage Act, which does not accommodate same-sex marriage. The law is specific to how a parent-child relationship is established and does not include artificial insemination, but does include adoption.
Lincoln County Sheriff: Father of 15-year-old son shot dead
“Williams admitted through her testimony and exhibits presented at the trial that she and Wilson discussed adoption,” the ruling said. Additionally, Williams admitted that she knew that Oklahoma law required her to adopt the minor child in order to establish parental rights. Williams decided against adoption. Williams testified that she didn’t think it was fair that she had to take legal action to enforce the minor child’s parental rights… In fact, the law provides Williams with a remedy. She made a conscious decision not to pursue it further.”
“I can tell you that this causes me a lot of anger and emotion,” Williams told KFOR of how she feels after the decision and the loss of the child.
Through tears, she asked, “Why? Just why?”
She and her attorney, Robyn Hopkins, are appealing the verdict to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, believing there is insufficient precedent for this complicated situation for the verdict to stand.
“It’s the first type of case with these facts,” Hopkins said. “There is no precedent for these facts. Jurisprudence, even if it doesn’t exist, these facts exist. So we have to take what we know and apply it to the relevant facts.”
She doesn’t think it has to be difficult to get her point of view.
“One thing I can say is that Kris is on that child’s birth certificate and they were married,” she explained. “I mean, for me it’s logical. It’s black and white. But again, we have no jurisdiction in Oklahoma to support this. they were married Marriage is legal. Same-sex marriage is legal in the state of Oklahoma. And they had a child. So there is a child from the marriage.”
“It’s just the most ridiculous thing,” Barbers, stylist, worried about three license bills
She also stressed that adoption should not be forced on same-sex couples to claim parenthood if it is not forced on men of heterosexual couples.
“Show me where the law says gay men must adopt their own children?” Hopkins asked. “Why do gay people have to do home study and background checks to adopt their own children and pay up a few thousand dollars and go to court to make it official?”
Court documents show Wilson and the child have been living with Vaughn since November 2021. It states that both Wilson and Vaughn have testified that they did not believe their sperm donation contract was valid and formally canceled it in writing in February 2022.
On Tuesday, Vaughn told KFOR in a statement: “We remain solely focused on the protection and welfare of our child. We are grateful for the confirmation from the court.”
Wilson’s attorney, Seth von Tungelin, told KFOR that they would not comment on the verdict.
Comments are closed.