European court to decide if a lesbian couple can sever a father’s ties to his son

Article here. Excerpt:

'NEW YORK, September 21, 2012, (C-FAM)—Europe’s highest court on human rights will decide if a lesbian can adopt her partner’s child, in this case stripping the father of his parental rights to his son.

The case is very simple according to Gregor Puppinck of the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ). “The two female partners want to oust the father and, since the law does not allow them to do so, they claim it is discriminatory,” Gregor reported in Turtle Bay and Beyond, C-FAM’s blog.

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights will hear the case X and others v. Austria on October 3. Its decision will apply to all 47 countries in the Council of Europe and cannot be appealed.

Austria’s attorney has pointed out that most European countries do not allow a child to have two mothers or two fathers. A homosexual rights attorney who brought the case argued that this is sexual discrimination.

The child was born out of wedlock in 1995. He bears his father’s name. While the mother has sole custody, the father has regular contact with his son and pays alimony.
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It is unclear whether the father is aware of the court proceedings since the lesbian couple is pursuing the case anonymously. Nothing indicates the boy’s opinion. The same lawyer – Helmut Graupner, legal counsel of ILGA-Europe – represents the women and the boy.'