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COLUMBUS (AP) -- An Ohio judge has ruled that a lesbian mother must share custody of her 8-year-old biological daughter with her former partner.

Franklin County magistrate Judge Kathleen Knisely found that evidence supports the claims of Julie Rose Rowell that she and biological mother Julie Ann Smith were life partners with an agreement to raise the girl together.

The Columbus Dispatch reports Thursday that Smith plans to appeal the case to a domestic relations judge and will appeal even further if necessary.

The couple split up in 2008 and Rowell filed a petition for shared custody after Smith refused to allow her contact with the child.

Knisely found that Rowell was present for Smith's insemination procedure and all doctor's visits and attended the child's birth.

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