Life

Two dads try to explain to their son where babies come from

Two dads try to explain to their son where babies come from

July 25 — this Sunday — is Parents’ Day, a gender-neutral opportunity to recognize and celebrate parents and legal guardians beyond Mother’s or Father’s Days.

One short film shows how hard it actually can be for some same-sex couples or LGBTQ people to become parents.

Related: Angelica Ross is making it her business to “curate courage” for marginalized communities

The less-than-two minute video was released today by Family Equality to reflect how 63 percent of LGBTQ millennials are considering parenthood, according to their 2019 LGBTQ Family Building Survey.

It was directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon, two frequent collaborators who directed Blades of Glory and Office Christmas Party together. Speck is an adoptive dad in a same-sex relationship himself.

This shows that “the preconceived notion of what a family looks like in America is continuing to evolve as the country moves forward—slowly but surely,” the advocacy group said in a statement.

“Unfortunately, the LGBTQ+ path to parenthood is still full of undue complications and discrimination; for example, 11 states have laws allowing adoption and foster care agencies to turn away qualified LGBTQ+ parents.”

Love, Lawyers & The Government starts with a dad just finishing a bedtime story to his son, as the other dad looks on.

After his dads say goodnight and prepare to leave, the son then asks them, “Where do babies come from?”

Clearly startled by the question, the two dads decide that it’s time to explain the process of “having a baby.”

“Well, when two daddies love each other and they want to have a baby… first they talk to a lawyer about their options.”

The dads begin explaining how their options differ based on state and local laws. They then talk about the adoption agencies, lawmakers, and social services they have to go through to make adoption possible.

The dads get more in-depth, even calling their lawyer to explain to their son further how difficult the process can be — even if the poor kid is now ready to go to bed.

The dads then break out the white board, explaining all the scenarios that could happen for same-sex couples trying to adopt. They even call another same-sex couple that had children themselves, Sam and Marie. One of the two parents gave birth to their child, while the other had to legally adopt them to serve as their parent.

“Twelve to 24 months later, assuming all the paperwork goes through, parents can have a wonderful kid — just like you,” one of the dads concludes.

Their answer was very thorough, but very different from the answer their son’s friend Jody told him.

Family Equality is calling for the Equality Act and the John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act (ECDF). Neither the Equality Act nor the ECDF Act have been bought to a vote in the Senate, although the Equality Act has already passed the House.

“Family Equality members are calling on Americans to join them on their next mission of equality: helping the LGBTQ+ community navigate the journey to parenthood,” they said in their statement.

“It’s our hope that Love, Lawyers & The Government will shed further light on the inequities of the journey to parenthood in America. It’s a monumental struggle for these parents-to-be. But it’s a struggle many are simply not aware of,” Stacey Stevenson, the CEO of Family Equality, added in the statement.

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