You may not get to a foster a child in South Carolina anytime soon if you’re anything but a White, heterosexual, Christian couple after the Donald Trump administration recently granted a federally funded foster care agency in the Palmetto State the right to freely discriminate against potential foster parents who are LGBTQ, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, … [Read more...]
South Dakota Passes Controversial “Religious Exemption” Law
Huffington Post reported that South Dakota passed a law earlier this year allowing religious adoption agencies to turn down LGBTQ and interfaith parents who wish to adopt. The law protects these agencies from liability for discrimination even in cases where parents simply don’t share the same beliefs. Of course, for the religious adoption agencies … [Read more...]
The Tug of War Over Reproductive Rights
U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt recently blocked an Indiana state law requiring women to get an ultrasound 18 hours before getting an abortion. The judge found the measure to be overly burdensome for low income women. Judge Pratt’s ruling, which was issued on Friday March 31st, came after a lawsuit was filed by the ACLU on behalf of Planned … [Read more...]
Same-Sex Adoptive Parents to be Recognized by All States
The Supreme Court ruled per curiam today that adoptions by same-sex parents must be honored across state lines. The decision comes after the Alabama Supreme Court had denied the right of a lesbian to visit her three adopted children. The woman, identified only as V.L. by the court, had adopted and raised the three children in Georgia, while … [Read more...]
Independent vs. Agency Adoption
Independent, or private, adoption and agency adoption are very different. There are some states that do not allow independent adoption. In independent adoption, birth parents and adoptive parents go through an attorney to find each other. In agency adoption, adoptive parents seek to adopt through a private or public agency. There are pros and cons … [Read more...]
