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http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/14/us/utah-lesbian-couple-fos...
A Utah judge on Friday reversed, at least temporarily, his order that a foster child be taken away from a lesbian couple because of their sexual orientation, but he continued to question the placement of children with same-sex parents.
The judge, Scott N. Johansen of Juvenile Court, had issued an order on Tuesday saying that the child, a 9-month-old girl, be removed from the couple’s home by the end of the day next Tuesday and placed with a heterosexual couple.
The foster parents, Rebecca A. Peirce, 34, and April M. Hoagland, 38, and the state Division of Child and Family Services, both filed motions Thursday asking the judge to reconsider, and said they were prepared to appeal his decision. The couple, who were married last October, live in Price, southeast of Salt Lake City.
It is not clear that the fight is over, given the wording of the revised order the judge issued Friday.
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Utah Judge Orders Lesbian Couple to Give Up Foster ChildNOV. 12, 2015
Judge Johansen eliminated one line saying that “it is not in the best interest of children to be raised by same-sex couples,” and another directing that the girl be removed and placed with a heterosexual couple. But the new order still says, “The court cited a concern that research has shown that children are more emotionally and mentally stable when raised by a mother and father in the same home.”
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A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 4 to determine what is in the best interests of the child, who has lived since August with Ms. Hoagland, Ms. Peirce and Ms. Peirce’s two biological children.
"We want to keep children stable in their homes,” said Ashley Sumner, a spokeswoman for the Division of Child and Family Services. “Our position is that it’s in the child’s best interest to stay with the foster family.”
The legal dispute is the first of its kind in Utah, she said, because the state only recently began approving foster child placements with same-sex couples. It did so after the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on gay marriage in June. Until a Federal District Court ruling in 2013, Utah did not allow same-sex marriages, and did not recognize those from other states.
Gov. Gary R. Herbert, a Republican, weighed in on the issue Thursday, saying that he was “a little puzzled” by the judge’s action. “He may not like the law,” the governor said, “but he should follow the law.”
The women and their lawyer could not be reached by phone Friday morning.
Court papers show that the baby girl is not a candidate for reunification with her biological parents. They say that she was abused, that her father is incarcerated and that her birth mother has relinquished all rights to her.
Comments
A little puzzled?
The Governor needs to be more than “a little puzzled” if judges in Utah try to ride roughshod over Federal law. Just recently a judge (in Florida?) was found to be sending children to jail because of a connection with the private company that runs the prison. As a foreigner it appears to me that religion and business has way to much influence over US judges.
Rhona McCloud
I think that was Pennsylvania or New York
He's serving time in prison now.
Gwen
No, it's usually politics
No, it's usually politics that are their biggest influences as in "play the game to get ahead". It is bad when they use politics to get their job or pander to the majority. Religion factors in some but it's not the norm
I'm told STFU more times in a day than most people get told in a lifetime
The "Studies" cited by the judge in Utah were most probably from
The right-wing Family Research Council
http://www.frc.org/issuebrief/new-study-on-homosexual-parent...
who are also against anything that doesn't fit the 1950's model family.
On the other hand, other studies show that children of gay couples are happier and better-adjusted:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/07/0...
Go figure...
Take your pick...
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Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
A key paragraph
The definition of what it means to have a homosexual parent is also a loose one in this study--by necessity, in order to maximize the sample size of homosexual parents. Not all of those who reported that a parent was in a same-sex relationship even lived with that parent during the relationship; many who did, did not live with the partner as well. Only 23% of those with a lesbian mother, and only 2% of those with a homosexual father, had spent as long as three years living in a household with the homosexual parent and the parent's partner at the same time. Details like this involving the actual timeline of these children's lives can reportedly be found in Regnerus' dataset, which is to be made available to other researchers later this year.
I think that the problems sited, are more related to a lack of stability in the family than to the sexual preferences of the parent.
Are you sure?
Let me get this right.... The judge was wearing a shift when he reversed himself? ;)
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.