A 5-year-old boy born to a lesbian couple, using the sperm of a friend, had known his biological father since birth. He saw him almost every week, as did his biological grandparents, who were invited to family events.
The relationship deteriorated when the two women separated. Considering the man’s demands to be “burdensome and troubling”, the women broke off contact with the boy’s father for 18 months. They had believed the man would only see the child as a family friend. However, he intended for the child to know that he was his father and, as such, planned to see him regularly.
After 18 months with no contact, the father obtained an order granting him legal visitation rights with his son. However, the grandparents were excluded, as the women felt that it would be “unwarranted interference in their right to raise the boy as they saw fit”.
The judges felt that “fostering the boy’s relationship with his paternal family would help him understand the ‘big picture of his birth story’”, and granted visitation rights to the grandparents.
Daily Mail (28/02/2018)