The two Lexington gay
men who made worldwide news by parenting quadruplets and
then a fifth child have separated amid allegations of
domestic violence that a judge dismissed, according to
court records.
Lexington attorney
Michael Meehan declined to comment yesterday on Fayette
Circuit Family Court Judge Kim Bunnell's decision
earlier this month to reject his petition for a domestic
violence order against his former partner Thomas Dysarz.
Bunnell ruled on June 1
that there was "insufficient evidence" to issue a
domestic violence order. Such an order would have put
restrictions on Dysarz's interaction with Meehan. Court
records show separate addresses for the men.
Meehan has custody of
his biological children -- the quadruplets born to
Meehan and surrogate mother Brooke Verity on July 26,
2002.
Dysarz, who has custody
of his biological child, Brandon Lane Dysarz, born in
January, declined to comment yesterday.
Brooke Verity, the
surrogate mother who gave birth to all five children,
could not be reached for comment.
Verity, who has three
children of her own, initially agreed to conceive a
child with Meehan because she thought he and Dysarz
would be good parents, she has said.
Verity and the men have
faced several challenges since deciding to have the
babies.
In November 2002,
anti-gay Kansas minister Fred Phelps traveled to
Lexington to protest the quadruplets' baptism at the
Cathedral of Christ the King.
In response to Phelps'
protest, some Central Kentucky residents rallied around
the men and launched a counter-demonstration, Rally for
a Hate-Free Lexington.
Last year, Verity tried
unsuccessfully in Jessamine County Circuit Court to
terminate her parental rights to the quadruplets.
An attorney appointed
by the court to represent the quadruplets said in a
report that Verity should remain their legal mother.
The attorney's report
said the babies need a mother and a father. It disagreed
with Verity's decision that Meehan and Dysarz would be
the quadruplets' parents.
Earlier this year,
Verity gave birth to Dysarz's biological child. She said
she entered into another in-vitro pregnancy so that all
the children could be biological siblings.
