Humanities WA Talk: The Struggle for Gay & Lesbian Adoption Rights

June 10, 2026

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Venue:

Greenwood Senior Center

525 N. 85th St.
Seattle , WA 98103

Organizer:

In 1986, Lisa and her partner Lynn had a baby using donor insemination. But equal rights for Lynn, as the non-biological mother, to legally parent their child was not guaranteed. Hear the story of how, after a two-year court battle, they secured these parenting rights for themselves and for all other same-sex couples in Washington. Discover their journey from changing the law in Washington State to Washington D.C., and how they’ve continued the fight for equal rights for LGBTQ+ people to the present day.

Lynn Grotsky and Lisa Brodoff have been in a committed relationship for 44 years. Lisa is an emerita professor of law at Seattle University, specializing in elder and disability law. Lynn is a retired Clinical Social Worker and the Cofounder of Pizza Klatch, a nonprofit organization providing school support groups for LGBTQ+ youth. Presented by Humanities Washington: humanities.org.