Two women will have equal parenting rights to their child after a Florida appeals court overturned the custody dispute ruling of a Brevard County judge who ruled that only the woman who gave birth was the mother.

The custody dispute began after the same-sex couple ended their 11-year relationship. Both women were treated as parents by the child after the split, but after the child was two years old, the birth mother disappeared with the child. Her former partner, who donated her egg to the mother to have the child, was not informed of their whereabouts and began tracking them down.

She discovered the child and her birth mother had moved to Australia, and the two have since moved back to Florida. The original ruling in this custody dispute stems from a Florida law that says the woman who gives birth is the mother. However, the appeals court came to their ground-breaking ruling to overturn that decision based on the U.S. constitution and the Florida constitution, both of which, in the eyes of the appeals court, supersede Florida law.

"This is a unique case, and the appellate courts in Florida have never before considered a case quite like it," the appeals court said. A law professor with experience in LGBT family law praised the decision by the appeals court.

"Any ruling that supports the right of a same-sex couple ... is important for its willingness to recognize that these families exist and a child raised in this environment shouldn't be forced to give up a parent," she said.

The custody dispute case now returns to the trial judge, with the appeals court giving the judge the direction of finalizing custody details, visitation rights, and child support.

Source: Orlando Sentinel, "Both lesbian moms have parental rights, Daytona court rules in custody dispute," Rene Stutzman, Dec. 29, 2011