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Friday, April 14, 2006

Ind. Decisions - More on: Gay couple wins adoption appeal

"Court OKs adoption by gay couple: Ruling paves way for unmarried partners to adopt" is the headline to a front-page story in the Indianapolis Star today by Tim Evans. Some quotes:

An appeals court on Thursday cleared the way for unmarried couples in Indiana -- including gays and lesbians -- to jointly adopt children.

In a 2-1 decision, the Indiana Court of Appeals denied a Morgan County judge's efforts to overturn the adoption of an infant girl by a same-sex couple in April 2005 in Marion County. The judge opposed the adoption not because the partners were gay, but because, he said, Indiana law did not allow for simultaneous adoptions by unmarried individuals.

Previously, adoptions to unmarried couples were granted only if the child was either the natural offspring of one partner or already had been adopted by a partner in the couple, rights that have been granted by other recent appellate decisions.

"The main thing this ruling does is approve joint adoption by unmarried couples when it is in the best interest of the child," said Patricia Logue, senior counsel for Lambda Legal. The national organization that promotes civil rights for gays represented the couple in the appeals case. * * *

The ruling places Indiana among about 25 states that allow joint adoptions by unmarried couples, Logue said.

Two previous appeals court rulings have established precedent in Indiana for co-adoptions by unmarried couples, but those cases did not address joint adoptions that occurred simultaneously, explained Barbara J. Baird, an Indianapolis attorney who also represented the Morgan County couple in the appeals case.

In the prior decisions, the subject of the adoption was either the natural child of one partner or had been previously adopted by one partner.
"There has been a lot of discussion about whether there has been an amendment (to the law) to affect that," Baird said.

But judges noted in Thursday's ruling that there had been no court ruling or legislation that overturns those appellate decisions.

See yesterday's ILB entries here (3rd case) and here.

Here is a listing of earlier ILB entries on this topic.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 14, 2006 06:34 AM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions