K.M. v. E.G. 5/10/04 CA1/5

State: California

Court: 1st District Court of Appeal 1st District Court of Appeal

Docket No: A101754

Case Date: 05/11/2004

Preview:Filed 5/10/04

CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION FIVE

K.M., Plaintiff and Appellant, v. E.G., Defendant and Respondent. (Marin County Super. Ct. No. CV 020777) A101754

Appellant K.M. donated her eggs so that her lesbian partner, E.G., could bear a child through in vitro fertilization. The couple orally agreed that only E.G. would be the legal parent unless and until there was a formal adoption. E.G. gave birth to twins, and both women took on parental responsibilities; adoption proceedings, however, were never initiated. While K.M. does not dispute that E.G., the birth mother, qualifies as the children's parent, she argues that as the genetic mother, she, too, qualifies as a parent entitled to custody and visitation. Because we believe that the "intention" test set out in Johnson v. Calvert (1993) 5 Cal.4th 84, 93 (Johnson) governs and because substantial evidence supports the trial court's factual finding that only E.G. intended to bring about the birth of a child whom she intended to raise as her own, we conclude that K.M. does not qualify as a parent under the Uniform Parentage Act (Fam. Code,

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