Chile: Court says lesbian mother is unfit

SANTIAGO, Chile, May 12 (UPI) -- Chile's Supreme Court has upheld a ruling that forced a lesbian mother of three to give up her children.

Last year Chile's judiciary ruled against Karen Atala, saying her live-in lesbian partner was having a detrimental effect on her children. The courts took away her three daughters and restricted her visits to one weekend a month, La Tercera newspaper reported Thursday.

Atala has been fighting for their custody since then. She has appealed to the Washington-based Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for legal assistance. The commission is looking into the case.

Chile is a socially conservative country despite having a center-left president.