New Law: Lamont Signs Connecticut Parentage Act

CONNECTICUT — A new law will make it easier for children born in nontraditional ways, or into nontraditional families, to still be their parents' children in the eyes of the state.

Gov. Ned Lamont signed the Connecticut Parentage Act on Wednesday. The law affords children equal access to the legal benefits of a parent-child relationship regardless of the circumstances of their birth, including assisted reproduction, or the marital status, gender, or sexual orientation of their parents.

Connecticut had been the only New England state without protections or paths to parentage for non-biological parents to establish their legal relationship with their children, according to Yale Law School. The state also has the second-highest rate of births through assisted reproduction in the country, and 37 percent of children born here are to unmarried parents, according to Rep. Jeff Currey, who was the lead sponsor of the bill.

"I’m incredibly proud that Connecticut has been at the forefront of so many LGBTQ issues, and the legislation I signed today is another step forward in that movement to help break down bureaucratic barriers that families can face simply because of the sexual orientation or gender of the parents," Lamont said.