"I did enter into this relationship thinking she and I could have a life together," Barlow said. "I was dead wrong."

After the breakup, Barlow said that she "left the gay lifestyle" and converted to an evangelical Christian faith.

Barlow said Jones has no legal ties to her daughter and as a mother, she should decide if Jones can see the girl.

"I never elected a legal relationship with her," Barlow said. "Nor did I put myself in the position that she would have legal rights to my child. . . . In the eyes of Utah law, (Jones) is nothing but a roommate to me."

However, a district court judge disagreed.

After a series of tense hearings, 3rd District Judge Timothy Hanson ruled last December that although Jones had no legal right by adoption or marriage, there was a parental relationship between the girl and Jones and in the best interest of the child, Jones was ordered visitation.

"This case is not about gay marriage. This case is not about gay adoption. What this case is about is whether or not a child is better off in this rather uncertain world with as many people as possible taking an interest in the child, both financially and emotionally," Hanson wrote in his decision.

The judge also noted that the couple traveled to Vermont to register as domestic partners.

Barlow acknowledged that she has taken a different direction in her life. Once a gay activist who was on the board of governors for the Human Rights Campaign and active in other gay/lesbian organizations, Barlow said she left that life behind and now feels that she is being punished for it. She said she has received "backlash" from the gay community.

"My client used to be in that lifestyle," said attorney Frank Mylar. "She completely left that lifestyle and found that those relationships don't work and don't last."

Mylar said this is a parental rights issue. "You have somebody who is a fit natural parent and somebody who claims that they should have rights to a child, even though they do not have any legal relation to the child either by blood or marriage."

"Where does it end? School teachers, day-care providers? This opens a Pandora's Box," said Mylar.

Jones' attorney, Lauren Barros, said the core issue is what is in the best interest of the child. If local legal doctrine is overturned by the Utah Supreme Court, Barros said the consequences will affect anyone not in a legal marriage who is raising and caring for a non-biological child without the benefit of adoption.

"I think that the precedent around the country also supports the rights of people who have a special parent relationship with a child," Barros said.