By CLIFF DUNN

TALLAHASSEE, FL – The custody battle between two gay Florida women could have far-reaching consequences for both state law and the cultural definition of what it means to be a mother.

The two women, who have been identified in court papers only by their initials, were partners for 11 years. In 2004, nine years into their relationship, one of the women gave birth utilizing an egg from the other woman that had been fertilized and implanted. Two years later, the Brevard County women, who were both police officers, separated. The birth mother left the state in 2006, taking the child–a girl–with her. They eventually moved to Australia.

A trial judge ruled last year that under state law, the biological mother—the woman who donated the fertilized egg—holds no parental rights. The judge added that he hoped his ruling would be overturned. In due course,  the Fifth District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach overturned the decision, ruling that parental rights were held by both women.

The issue now finds itself before the Florida Supreme Court, although the justices have not announced whether or not they will hear the case. At the heart of the debate is legislation passed in 1993 by state lawmakers to define and regulate sperm and egg donation. But there is also the added complication  of the rights of gays and lesbians to adopt and raise children under the law’s equal protection measures. In 2010, a separate appeals court ruled that Florida’s ban on gay adoption
is unconstitutional.

These issues, while framing much of the social debate now and in the months to come, make no difference  to the biological mother, whose attorney says is solely interested in reuniting with the child she hasn’t seen since 2005.

“She hasn’t seen her daughter in years,” said Robert Segal, a Melbourne-based family law attorney. “It’s been terribly, terribly difficult for her.”