by Edmund Broch 22 May 2012 Pinknews.co.uk Same-sex couples and women over 40 will be entitled to free in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment through the National Health Service (NHS), for the first time according to guidelines to be published today. The recommendations, which puts same-sex couples on par with heterosexual couples when it comes to fertility treatment, is issued by the government watchdog for cost-effective treatment in the NHS, National...

by Anthony M. Brown – My two year old is shaman. Nicholas is the light of my husband’s and my life since he graced us with his presence in 2009. He recently had his first semi-serious fall. I say semi-serious because I don’t have a frame of reference for this, thankfully. He took a tumble and cut his forehead. It was clear that he was going to need stitches and, as he bled on my husband’s shoulder and we ran to get a...

May 21, 2012 – by Nancy Polikoff – Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage   In a unanimous opinion written by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the US Supreme Court today weighed in on how the Social Security Act defines “child” for purposes of receiving survivor’s benefits when a covered employee dies.  Karen Capato was seeking such benefits for twins born 18 months after the death of her husband, Robert.  The twins were...

NPR.org by Jennifer Ludden 5.17,2012 On the edge of the National Mall on Thursday, dozens of moms, dads and kids pose for a group photo framed by the U.S. Capitol. They’re just some of the approximately 700,000 same-sex families across the country, despite laws in some states that make raising children difficult for gay couples. Now, they’ve come to Washington to ask lawmakers to make their lives a little easier.\ “Today in the United...

May 14, 2012 – New York Times By JACQUELINE MROZ Sharine and Brian Kretchmar of Yukon, Okla., tried a number of medical treatments to conceive a second child. After a depressing series of failures, a doctor finally advised them to find a sperm donor. For more than a year, the Kretchmars carefully researched sperm banks and donors. The donor they chose was a family man, a Christian like them, they were told. Most important, he had a clean bill...

May 8, 2012 New York Times, By BRIAN STELTER On “Glee” this spring, a transgender character named Unique is competing in a sing-off. On “Grey’s Anatomy,” Arizona and Callie are adjusting to married life, having been pronounced “wife and wife” last year. On “Modern Family,” the nation’s most popular television show, Cameron and his partner Mitchell are trying to adopt a second child. What’s missing? The outrage. The cultural...

May 12, 2012, 4:43 pm New York Times By KENJI YOSHINO In a historic interview last week, President Obama announced his support for same-sex marriage. As he discussed his journey toward that position, the president sounded many familiar themes, like the importance of distinguishing between civil and religious marriage and of living up to American ideals of fairness. At the core of his narrative, however, was a relatively novel element — an affirmation...

ColorLines.com by Kenyon Farrow, May 11, 2012 President Obama’s public support of same-sex marriage helped upright the frowns of many LGBT marriage activists. The president’s endorsement came the day after North Carolina voters passed a constitutional amendment to ban recognition of any form of relationship that is not a legally married hetereosexual couple. While the passing of Amendment 1 may seem like a big blow to same sex-marriage activists,...