CHICAGO, June 3 -- A lesbian couple and the gay man who fathered a son for one of the women have reached agreement that will allow the woman's partner to adopt the child and give the biological father visitation rights. The settlement reached this week ends a bitter custody fight over the 21-month-old boy.
Lynn Alleruzzo, 35, and her partner, Charlene Crotty, 58, will adopt the child known in court papers as E.P.A. The agreement also allows Kevin Green, 38, to have contact with the child. Alleruzzo, Crotty, Green and Green's longtime partner, Thomas Askounis, had all been close friends until the custody dispute erupted. Now that a settlement has been reached, Alleruzzo's attorney, Richard Lipshitz says, 'I think they'll be friends again.' Alleruzzo conceived the child through artificial insemination. Green was involved in the pregnancy and delivery but the friends had a falling-out when Green was asked to give up his parental rights so the adoption could proceed. Green sought visitation rights and to be allowed to pay child support. The agreement was approved Tuesday by Circuit Judge Kathleen Kennedy. The attorneys in the case say it highlights the need for legislation to protect children conceived by new reproductive technologies. ---
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