The Supreme Court has sided with a lesbian mother who wants to see her adopted children, blocking an Alabama court's order that declared the adoption invalid.
The justices issued an order Monday in a case that puts on display legal challenges facing gay and lesbian parents even after the Supreme Court decided that same-sex couples have the right to marry.
The case involves a soured relationship between two women, and the three children they raised until the breakup. The children's birth mother is contesting regular visits between the children and her former partner.
Alabama's highest court refused to recognize the other woman as a parent, saying the adoption they obtained in Georgia was not valid.
The women disagree about whether the order Monday will restore visits while the appeal continues.