Where do you have a link showing any adoption? I’ve provided several on various threads showing there was NOT.
I’m sorry, this seems to be a semantic argument, but you are correct that there is no explicit adoption.
In Vermont, a child born through artificial insemination to a couple in a civil union is explicitly recognized as being adopted by the non-birth parent. So there was no more need for an “adoption” by the non-birth mother than there would be for a husband and wife if you later found out that the child was not the husband’s.
Now, Virginia does not recognize the parental rights of a non-birth parent from a civil union. However, Virginia does recognize the court custody decisions of other states, and since the couple lived in Vermont when the child was born, the woman was out of luck when she tried to use the Virginia law to circumvent Vermont law.
Not that this was a cut-and-dry case, and I would have been pleased if the Virginia courts had ruled differently, but the ruling is understandable and legally defensible.