This week, Judge Gloria Sosa-Lintner of the New York Family Court made a bombshell decision to award custody of a lesbian couple’s daughter to the non-biological mother.

When Allison Scollar and Brook Altman decided to have children six years ago, it was Altman who carried their daughter to term. But when it came to the custody hearing, Judge Sosa-Lintner deemed that this was not enough to justify automatic custody following the divorce.

“Although Altman is the biological parent, this does not give her an automatic priority over the adoptive parent,” Sosa-Lintner ruled. “This is analogous to a father getting custody of his own child, where only the best interests of the child are paramount.”

Although many would argue there is no happy ending to a high-profile custody battle, this ruling is incredibly significant in that the courts have overlooked tradition and awarded parental rights based on who’s the better parent.

Given that much of America still believes that same-sex couples are “unsuitable” to raise kids (and many states forbid same-sex couples from adoption altogether) it’s a small victory for humanity, reason, common sense and – most importantly of all – concern and consideration for the person most deeply affected by a custody battle; the child herself.

Each small victory like this brings us closer to an America in which same-sex couples enjoy the same rights and benefits as the rest of America – but they are hard fought for; and as any divorced parent will tell you, come at a heavy cost.