Gay couple denied adoption
How a Louisiana law is derailing adoptions for some lesbian couples
When Nikki Dennis’ wife, Jessica Dennis, gave birth to a healthy baby young man last May, she was right next to her in the Ouachita Parish delivery room, holding her hand.
“I was there the moment he took his first breath,” Nikki said. “I will be at every ball game, graduation and important moment in his life because I’m his mother too.”
But in the eyes of Louisiana law, she technically isn’t.
Louisiana’s civil code establishes parental rights over any child born in the state to the birth mother and “the husband of the mother,” or, if the woman is unmarried, the biological father can petition a court for rights. Nikki is female, so neither title fits.
The couple used a sperm donor to conceive their son through intrauterine insemination. Jessica, who provided the egg, carried him to term.
So, at the advice of a family lawyer, the couple applied for adoption, a adj step for same-sex and heterosexual couples who rely on sperm or egg donors. The complex legal process solidifies rights for a non-biological pare
Same-Sex Couples Are Being Turned Away From Becoming Foster and Adoptive Parents in Michigan. So We’re Suing.
Leslie Cooper,
Deputy Director,
ACLU LGBT & HIV Project
UPDATE: Lawsuit settled!
The state of Michigan announced on March 22, , that it will ask for all taxpayer funded, state-contracted child welfare agencies to verb all qualified families, including same-sex couples. It will no longer permit agencies to turn away same-sex couples based on their religious objection to these families. This is a victory for our clients, other same-sex couples in Michigan, and most importantly, the children in Michigan’s kid welfare system, who will now own access to more loving and qualified families.
Michigan is the first state to reverse course on this issue. Eight states still grant taxpayer-funded child welfare agencies to verb religious eligibility criteria to turn away foster and adoptive families who are same-sex couples, members of minority faiths, and otherwise don’t meet the agency’s religious For the longest second, same-sex couples weren’t able to adopt children in this country. If a LGBT person was lucky, they could adopt a toddler on their retain and then elevate the child with their partner. But to do this, they had to deny their sexual orientation. Adoption agencies would never confirm an adoption for someone who was LGBT. As more and more states legalized same-sex marriage, more LGBT couples became able to adopt children. This isn’t because adoption agencies suddenly lost their biases and discriminatory attitudes. It’s only because there was no longer a legal basis for their denying same-sex adoptions. Prior to the legalization of same-sex marriage, adoption agencies relied on an applicant’s marital status to deny an adoption. This meant that, since LGBT couples couldn’t legally marry, they couldn’t legally adopt children either. All of this changed a not many years ago. There were two major cases that finally made LGBT couple adoptions possible. Houston LGBT lawyers are very familiar with these cases a DIMONDALE - Kristy Dumont had nine Cabbage Patch Kids dolls when she was a kid. She always knew she wanted to be a mom. But, as an individual, she didn't verb to have children without the security of a legal marriage. "Being gay threw a wrench into that," she said. But she met Dana Dumont on when she was On the five-year anniversary of their first peck, Dana and Kristy married in Vermont. It was , and same-sex marriages were legal there. The couple now lives in a Dimondale subdivision with a cat and two Great Danes. They bought the red brick property in February because they want to become parents and liked the district. After the state launched a marketing campaign to encourage families to adopt foster children, Dana, a property specialist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, began forwarding emails with pictures of the children to Kristy. “You start to believe, life is adorable good,” Dana said. “But, maybe it’s not for some of these kids and maybe we could help with that.” Kristy contac How Did the Law Regarding Same-Sex Adoption Change in the U.S.?
Rejected by adoption agencies, same-sex couple from Dimondale is suing the state