Winchester Delegation Celebrates Passage of Parentage Act

BOSTON—State Representatives Michael Day and Michelle Ciccolo and State Senators Jason Lewis and Pat Jehlen joined their colleagues in the Massachusetts Legislature to pass An Act to ensure legal parentage equality, also known as the Massachusetts Parentage Act, extending the full rights of parentage to LGBTQ+ families and families created via assisted reproduction.

This legislation dismantles archaic legal barriers to basic parenting responsibilities for modern families, enabling all parents to legally attend and make decisions during medical appointments, manage a child’s finances, participate in educational decisions, and provide authorizations for a child’s travel.

After legislation passed both the House and the Senate, Rep. Michael S. Day led the conference committee to send a final version of the bill to the governor’s desk.

“We acted to ensure that if you are a parent, whether a biological parent or not, the law will recognize you as a parent just as society does," said Representative Michael S. Day (D-Stoneham), House Chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary. "This bill will remove one of the last vestiges of the law that treats same sex parents and parents who engaged in assisted reproduction differently from every other parent. It is a good day for all families in Massachusetts.”

“All parents and families should have the same parenting rights and protections, regardless of the gender identity or sexual orientation of the parents or the use of assisted reproduction,” said State Senator Jason Lewis. “I’m proud that Massachusetts continues to be a safe and welcoming place for all families to raise their children.”

“Parents regardless of gender, biological parentage, or sexual orientation should have equal rights and recognition,” said State Senator Patricia Jehlen. “I'm glad to see this bill passed and signed into law after many years of supporting it and seeing how much it will help us protect families.”

“Families of all shapes, sizes, and compositions deserve to be equally recognized and protected under the law,” said State Representative Michelle Ciccolo. “Massachusetts has been a consistent leader in equality for LGBTQ people and I was immensely proud to support this bill and thrilled that the Governor has signed it into law.”

Twenty years ago, Massachusetts led the nation by legalizing same-sex marriage. The Parentage Act continues this work by updating the Commonwealth’s laws so that common paths to parentage may be utilized equally by all families, regardless of marital status. It also creates a new path to parentage for individuals who are ‘de facto’ parents and ensures that every child and parent has the same rights and protections without regard to the marital status, gender identity, or sexual orientation of the parents, or the circumstances of the child’s birth.

The Parentage Act also makes critical updates to laws related to assisted reproduction, including surrogacy and in-vitro fertilization (IVF). It outlines rights, requirements, procedures, and safeguards for parents, donors, surrogates, and others involved in the process. Further, it establishes clear paths to parentage for individuals or couples utilizing assisted reproduction and surrogacy in order to provide legal recognition and status prior to the child’s birth.

For many families, non-biological parents are their child’s parent in every way except being legally recognized as such. The Parentage Act legally recognizes the importance of relationships between children and parents in modern families and affords individuals who have been acting in a meaningful parental role for a significant amount of time the opportunity to seek full legal rights befitting their relationship. It also provides notice, and an opportunity to be heard, to existing parents, and adds safeguards against abuse and protections for domestic violence survivors and military parents.

After final passage in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, the Parentage Act was signed into law by Governor Maura Healey on August 9, 2024.