Adoption of Tammy, 416 Mass. 205, 619 N.E.2d 315 (Mass. 1993) (Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts)
Adoption of Tammy is a landmark Massachusetts decision establishing that the same-sex partner of a child's biological mother may adopt the child as a second legal parent without severing the biological mother's parental rights. Decided in 1993—well before marriage equality—the case pioneered the doctrine often called "second-parent adoption," providing a lawful route for two unmarried co-parents to secure full, coequal legal parentage of a child they were already raising together.{" "}
Does Massachusetts's adoption statute, G.L. c. 210, permit the same-sex partner of a child's biological mother to adopt the child as a second parent without terminating the biological mother's parental rights, and may a decree issue recognizing both women as the child's legal parents upon a finding that the adoption is in the child's best interests?
Massachusetts adoption law is to be construed to promote the child's best interests. Under G.L. c. 210, § 1 et seq., a person of full age may petition to adopt a child, and the probate court possesses broad equitable authority to structure decrees that serve the child's welfare. Although a decree of adoption generally terminates the rights of the child's natural parents, Massachusetts law recognizes exceptions (e.g., stepparent adoptions), and nothing in the statute forbids an adoption by an unmarried partner where the decree can be fashioned to preserve the consenting biological parent's continuing parentage. The objective of the statute is to create a secure legal family for the child, and statutory silence on the precise family form does not bar relief when consistent with the statute's text, purpose, and the child's best interests.
Yes. The Supreme Judicial Court held that the biological mother's same-sex, unmarried partner may adopt the child as a second parent without terminating the biological mother's parental rights, and the probate court may enter a decree recognizing both women as the child's legal parents if the adoption is in the child's best interests.
Adoption of Tammy is an early and influential recognition of second-parent adoption, providing a durable pathway for same-sex and other unmarried co-parents to secure full legal parentage for both caregivers. The case is frequently taught for its statutory interpretation methodology—liberally construing text to fulfill the statute's child-centered purpose—and for its creative remedial approach to reconcile the termination clause with the need to preserve the consenting biological parent's status. It also anticipates later developments in marriage equality and parentage reform by decoupling child welfare from adult marital status, a theme that recurs in modern family law jurisprudence.