Were it not for one small fact, it’s a good bet that we never would’ve known April Hoagland and Beckie Peirce wanted to foster or adopt a child.
The Utah couple would’ve just gone about their lives changing diapers and wiping drool in obscurity.
That all changed last week when Juvenile Court Judge Scott Johansen ordered the child, who had been in the couple's care for the past three months, be removed from their home and sent "to a more traditional" one, which is to say lesbian-run households are, well, nontraditional.
Johansen initially wrote that it was not in the best interest of children to be raised by same-sex couples, citing “belief that research has shown that children are more emotionally and mentally stable when raised by a mother and father in the same home.”
I remember black sociologists making a similar argument in the 1970s against white families fostering and adopting black children. The argument was that children who are adopted by people of a different race are predisposed to developing an unhealthy racial and cultural identity; that white parents are less able to help them deal with racism, prejudice and discrimination.
Such arguments made me queasy then and they make me queasy now.
There are more than 415,000 children in foster care in this country. Of those, more than 107,000 children are waiting to be adopted.
That’s just sad, but I know what you’re thinking.
Not all foster parents are created equal. You’ll get no argument from me there. But neither are all parents created equal. And I’d venture to say neither are all gay parents.
That’s why criteria is put in place to help weed out those who don’t meet the standard. And while eligibility requirements might vary from state to state, most adults qualify to foster and adopt because they are stable, mature, dependable, flexible, able to advocate for children and be a team player with the family or child welfare worker.
Hoagland and Peirce, who are raising Peirce's two children, were found to be all those things. That's why the Utah Division of Child and Family Services chose them to foster in the first place.
Johansen’s ruling against them sparked outrage and cries of injustice from rights groups and others. The child services division filed a motion asking the judge to stay his order. If he didn’t, they planned to petition a court of appeals.
To his credit, Johansen didn’t freeze his judgment like so many of us are prone to do. He quickly amended his order and on Monday, amid calls for his impeachment, he removed himself from the case.
Sharon Arnold, an adoptive parent and associate professor of sociology at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pa., has studied adoption extensively.
She believes Johansen’s initial order expressed his biases and had little to do with whether the child was well adjusted and being cared for.
A generation ago, many states barred gay men and women from becoming adoptive or foster parents. Many believed this summer's Supreme Court decision on gay marriage had put an end to any question these parents could foster or adopt.
It turns out this case exposes, as some feared possible, limits of the court’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision.
Other courts have examined the data and have concluded that laws barring gays and lesbians from adopting have no rational basis, said Susan F. Appleton, a professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis.
“The Supreme Court in Obergefell assumed that the LGBT couples have children, and that allowing same-sex parents to marry would improve the lives of their children,” she said. “But the Supreme Court said nothing explicit about removing barriers that LGBT adults might encounter in parentage, foster care or adoption laws.
“Nor did Obergefell decide what sort of review the Equal Protection Clause requires for state action that discriminates on the basis of sexuality,” she said.
For now, the child will stay with Peirce and Hoagland, but this isn’t the last we’ll hear about this case. More hearings are set, but with Johansen out of the picture, the couple will at least have a fair shot.
This is what we know for sure. Children do equally well in the homes of good, caring parents, whether they are heterosexual or gay and lesbian.
"Studies show that same-sex couples care for children with the same love and concern as other couples," said John Ballew, a psychotherapist in private practice in Atlanta. "Indeed, because same-sex couples are not likely to have children 'by accident,' those who chose to parent or foster parent are highly motivated."
As it is, too many children are left in unsafe or unhealthy environments because no one is willing to foster them.
Let’s not stand in the way of those who are.
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