New Jersey extended the right to marry to same-sex couples in 2013. In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 S. Ct. 2584 (2015). The court’s decision on same-sex marriage has also had an impact on adoption rights. Although Obergefell did not explicitly address adoption, some of the plaintiffs in the case raised adoption-related issues. The 2015 ruling explicitly recognized that adoption is one of the longstanding rights of marriage. Id. at 2601.

Despite the Obergefell decision and New Jersey’s history of advancing the law to protect families of all configurations, there are various marriage-related issues same-sex couples, male or female, must consider. This article will address the reasons why same-sex female married couples should consider adoption by the non-biological parent, even though both are listed on the child’s birth certificate and are already recognized as the child’s parents.

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