Supreme Court Won't Take on Gay-Parent Case

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court refused Monday to stop Sue Ellen Carvin from seeking parental rights to a child she helped raise with her lesbian partner, Page Britain. A state court ruled earlier that Carvin is a "de facto parent" for the girl she helped raise, and that she may pursue parental rights over the girl.

Page Britain, who is the biological mother of the child, told justices that the state court decision in this case and others around the country would "pave the way for children to have an unlimited and ever-changing number of parents."

Observers say that the Supreme Court could have chosen to use the case to clarify child custody disputes in nontraditional families, but that they declined to do so.