Three men and a lawsuit.
A gay throuple has adopted a 3-year-old baby girl in Canada and is fighting for their regional government to recognize the parental rights of all three men, according to a report.
Eric LeBlanc, Jonathan Bedard, and Justin Maheu — who are in a polyamorous relationship — became parents to the 3-year-old girl last Thursday after more than two years of fostering the youngster, CTV News reported.
“She’s perfect,” LeBlanc told the outlet. “She’s curious, she’s energetic. She loves to play, she loves to jump, she loves to dance.”
Eric LeBlanc, Jonathan Bédard, and Justin Maheu, said they had been trying
to become fathers for years until they were finally matched with a child last week. Facebook/Jonathan Bedard“We are lucky to be three to give her all that support, but I think we are the lucky ones to have her in our life,” the new adopted dad dished.
Though the unorthodox family is celebrating at home, they are still hopeful a court fight involving the province of Quebec will end in their favor.
Canadian provinces Ontario, British Columbia and Saskatchewan already legally recognize throuples as parents — but Quebec has resisted.
Last April, a Quebec Superior Court judge ruled that the province’s government must recognize families with more than two parents, stating the law discriminates against different family models and violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, CTV News reported.
“It’s not about step-parents or other potential realities,” Judge Marc-Andre Landry said in his ruling. “It’s really about three people sitting together and saying, ‘We should have a child together.’”
Two of the newly adopted dads practice CPR on a dummy child. Facebook/Jonathan Bedard
The throuple said they believe the court case against Quebec
could go all the way to Canada’s Supreme Court. Facebook/Jonathan BedardThe Quebec government is appealing that decision but regardless of either decision in the controversial case — it could go all the way to the top of the Canadian justice system.
“We think that either way it might go all the way to the Supreme Court,” LeBlanc told CTV News. “But we’re saddened from the fact that we’re not backed by our own government, which is supposed to be an open government that wants to help every single family.”
Their legal case is being organized by La Coalition des Familles LGBT+, a community advocacy organization, according to the Toronto Sun.
The three adoptive dads faced an uphill battle in even getting approved for the adoption outside of court restrictions — revealing that they were turned down at least once by an agency which did not recognize throuples as potential parents, CTV News reported.
