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Shocking Houston Court Case Could Redefine Motherhood

Posted byHoumanitarian

(Brian Rogers, Houston Chronicle)
To realize her lifelong dream of becoming a mother, Cindy Close and a longtime friend used in vitro fertilization to get pregnant. Neither was married, and both wanted to be parents. She expected to raise the children, and he would be a part-time father figure supporting the family while living his own life.

After giving birth to twins in July, Close said, Marvin McMurrey shocked her by saying she was just a surrogate, demanding custody and revealing he is gay.

Now, the courts will determine what rights Close has as she struggles to define, legally speaking, what it means to be a mother.

“There has never been a case in Texas quite like this one,” said Jim Paulsen, a professor at South Texas College of Law. “It combines three or four of the strangest areas of Texas family law all in one package. I’m glad I’m not the judge.”

McMurrey has custody of the children, who are living with his boyfriend. According to Close, McMurrey does not live at the home. McMurrey filed a lawsuit in August asking that a judge declare he is the father and that Close was a surrogate, despite presenting no written agreement or contract.

That ruling, according to Close and her attorneys, would mean that the children will have no legally recognized “mother.”

“If Marvin gets his way, the only four people who will have ever walked this earth without a mother would be Adam, Eve and these twins,” said Close’s lawyer, Grady Reiff. “What they’re trying to perpetuate is pretty unheard-of in this state.”  He said the law in Texas is well-settled.

“It’s our position that a woman who give birth is the mother, unless there is a (surrogate) agreement,” Reiff said. Close is counter­suing for child support, as well as for custody.

Attorneys for McMurrey and his partner, Phong Nguyen, declined comment and said their clients would not comment on the situation.
(Read more of this story at the Houston Chronicle)

ADDITIONAL COVERAGE:
Gay couple tells woman: You’re not the mom! (KRIV 26 News)

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