New Delaware Parentage Law Strengthens Protections for LGBTQ+ Families

Featured image: Gov. Matt Meyer (center), along with speakers at the signing ceremony for the new parentage law on June 9, 2026.

Earlier this week, Delaware Democratic Gov. Matt Meyer signed into law a new bill that helps modernize the state’s parentage policies for the first time in years, closing gaps that had left some children without guaranteed legal recognition of their family — including those born through assisted reproduction or raised by LGBTQ+ parents. 

This comes amid anti-LGBTQ+ policies created or passed by both the Trump administration and state legislatures. 

The new law, SB 250, advocates say, provides better parentage policies for families today. The previous state law lacked clear parental recognition across these gaps, according to advocates, which had real-world consequences for both parents and children, ranging from barriers to decision-making, health care access, or the risk of losing parental rights if one parent dies or a couple separates. 

Queer families are more likely to rely on assisted reproduction, surrogacy, and non-biological parenting. While custody, parenting time, child support, and birth certificate laws remain unchanged, the new law attaches parental rights to these broader familial connections from birth. 

Meyer signed the bill at a ceremony on Tuesday. 

“At a time when families across the country are facing growing uncertainty, Delaware is reaffirming a simple principle: every child deserves to have their parents legally recognized and protected,” said Meyer in a statement provided to GO. “Senate Bill 250 modernizes our laws to reflect the reality of today’s families, including LGBTQ+ families, and ensures children have the stability, freedom, and peace of mind that come with clear legal parentage. This is about putting children first and making sure every Delaware family is treated with dignity, fairness, and respect under the law.”

Across the U.S., more than 5 million children are being raised by an LGBTQ+ parent, according to a 2024 report by the Williams Institute. Parentage laws are different from state to state, according to COLAGE, an LGBTQ+ rights group that works with LGBTQ+ parents and caregivers. 

“Gaps in state law, compounded by coordinated efforts to narrow who counts as family, continue to place LGBTQ+ families at risk. Children should not lose stability based on geography or politics,” the organization wrote in a white paper on the topic published earlier this year. 

COLAGE had supported the drafting of the Delaware law. 

“By modernizing its laws to better reflect and protect today’s families, Delaware has set an example for states across the country,” said Jordan Wilson, executive director of COLAGE. “Every child deserves the security and stability that comes with a legally recognized relationship with parents who love and care for them.”

Wilson added: “Children thrive when their relationships with their parents are recognized and protected under the law.” 

State Sen. Marie Pinkney and state Rep. Krista Griffith sponsored the bill, alongside ten more co-sponsors in Delaware’s General Assembly. 

Mark Purpura, a board member of Equality Delaware, a statewide LGBTQ+ rights organization, called the signing a reflection of core values.

“Delaware is strongest when the law respects and protects all families,” Purpura said.