Three’s A Crowd?

Few will have missed the recent coverage in the press in which it was claimed that the Court of Appeal in A v B [2012] 'allowed' a two-year old boy, born to a lesbian couple and their gay male friend, to have three parents instead of two. It follows several recent high-profile cases in which the courts have grappled with disputes relating to 'alternative families'. But beyond the headlines, the judgment of Thorpe LJ, Black LJ and Sir John Chadwick reaffirms key principles regarding co-parenting arrangements and raises important issues for the future.

Background

The boy was conceived following an agreement at a dinner party between the mothers and the father. Interestingly, the biological mother was from a religious background, and so she and the father married two years before the birth to alleviate any difficulties she might face while pregnant. While the exact nature of their intended roles was subsequently disputed, it was agreed that the boy would live with the