Utah Moves To Block Gay Adoptions

The state of Utah has filed an emergency petition with the state Supreme Court, demanding that all pending adoptions by gay couples be denied. Many couples filed for second-parent adoptions during the brief period that same-sex marriages were allowed in Utah. A lesbian couple is among the first to be refused while the Court mulls the petition.

The two came to the Department of Health to obtain a birth certificate for their daughter that would include Kimberly’s name. Since Amber is the biological mother, her name is the only one on it. “We’re going to get the birth certificate with both of our names on it,” Amber said. “That’s it, a piece of paper with both of our names on it saying that we’re her legal parents.” But their trip to the Office of Vital Records and Statistics was met with another delay when the attorneys for the department filed petitions for Emergency Extraordinary Relief. In one petition, the state argued that 3rd District Court Judge Elizabeth A. Hruby-Mills’ decision “authorizes the department to violate the plain text of the Utah Constitution and Utah law prohibiting recognition of same-sex marriage…” They went on to say, “The trial court abused its discretion.”

The local Fox affiliate has posted a sympathetic video report at the link.