Our Story: Nancy Michael and Jane Fenton

Lambda Legal filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia on behalf of three same-sex couples seeking the freedom to marry. The case was filed on behalf of Casie McGee and Sarah Adkins and Justin Murdock and Will Glavaris, both of Huntington, and Nancy Michael and Jane Fenton and their son Drew, of St. Albans.

Here's Nacy and Jane's story:

Nancy Michael, 43, and Jane Fenton, 45, of St. Albans, have been together for 16 years, raising Drew, 6. Nancy and Jane own an information technology consulting business together. Jane is not Drew’s legal parent, and only Nancy is listed on his birth certificate. Jane and Nancy worry that in an emergency, Jane will not be recognized as Drew’s other mother, or otherwise as a person authorized to make medical decisions for him. Because Jane and Nancy have been unable to secure their family relationships through marriage, they have paid for alternate, but still inadequate legal documents to protect their family and they must remember to carry them wherever they go.

Learn more about the case.

Meet the other couples in the case, Casie and Sarah and Justin and Will.