The de facto win of Cheney's daughter

I congratulate Vice President Cheney on the birth of a grandchild. It is something I only hope to live long enough to witness myself with my two sons or a third child if we actually choose to have a third child (we're thinking about it).

In this article, Cheney's daughter claims

"This is a baby. This is a blessing from God," she said. "It is not a political statement. It is not a prop to be used in a debate by people on either side of an issue. It is my child."

Ok, so she doesn't want this to be political. Unfortunately, for her, you can choose your friends but you can't choose your family. She is a lesbian. She and her partner now have a child. I mark these both as good things; however, they are events that have repercussions.

For example, perhaps her family and herself are rich enough that matters of health insurance don't have a major impact on her life. For most of us, and I would think most gay and lesbian couples, this does have a major impact.

Right from the beginning - at birth, one wonders what she was able to enter in for father. Was she able to put in her domestic partner or was that not permitted? This has an impact on a whole slew of family issues such as divorce, permission to take the kid out of school when they get sick, etc. I'm pretty sure in documentation she looks like a single mother. That means she (and only she) can perform activities of a parent.

She may be able to file a guardianship with her domestic partner, but I'm not sure how legal this is when there is a current parent in charge of the child's life. Leave it for a minimum that there would be costs associated with setting up such a guardianship so that if there is a call and the little one needs help in school - that she isn't the only person in the world that can pick up the child.

Health insurance, I mention earlier, is also an issue for many of us. Without her partner listed on the birth certificate as in some way a parent, health insurance for the child can only flow from Ms Cheney. But throughout life we all have variations in employment. Most of us run a risk of being negatively impacted through the by-products of unemployment, specifically that unemployment pays some bills, but never really offers enough to pay the bills and for health insurance.

So, in Ms Cheney's case, it would seem this would matter little.

These things need to be thought about. They need legality to be set in precedent. She had a child and I'm sure she views her partner as a parent. Legally, this is most probably not true. This has an impact on her life which is probably minimized by wealth. This isn't true for most of us.

She may claim that her child isn't politics, but it is. It represents a de facto win for the gay and lesbian couples out there in having the right to have children. It also represents children of the future who will need care, in the case of a parent (biological) dieing and who takes over custody? Well, in a regular marriage that is clear. In a domestic partnership which many gay and lesbian couples are forced in to, this is not clear. It is not clear who has the rights of parenthood (and responsibilities, of course).

It really isn't fair that a person should be able to take on the responsibilities of parenthood and be a de facto parent; however, not get any of the rights of a parent.