The Connecticut Parentage Act (CPA) is a new set of state laws that comprehensively updates Connecticut parentage law and aims to ensure each child has a clear path to secure their legal parentage.
Specifically, the CPA ensures greater protections and equal treatment for children of LGBTQ parents. The law allows many LGBTQ parents to establish parentage through a simple form, an Acknowledgement of Parentage, ensuring LGBTQ parents are able to establish their legal relationship to the child immediately at birth. The CPA also extends an accessible path to parentage for children born through assisted reproduction and strengthens protections for children born through surrogacy. The bill was signed into law on May 26, 2021 and went into effect in 2022.
The creation of the Act
For years, countless Connecticut families struggled under a legal system that failed to extend parentage protections to LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ families equally. In response, the WE CARE Coalition, a broad coalition of families and organizations, including CARS, pushing for parentage reform in Connecticut led by Yale Law School Professor Douglas NeJaime and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, or GLAD, advocated for modernizing the states parentage laws. With the lead sponsorship of Rep. Jeff Currey and Sen. Alex Kassar, the coalition’s hard work paid off.
Connecticut Parentage Act: Frequently Asked Questions
Connecticut Acknowledge of Parentage: Frequently Asked Questions
