Tag Archives: adoption

Catholic Charities of Rockford, Illinois announced yesterday that they will suspend all foster care and adoption services rather than comply with the state’s new civil unions law. Officials cited a lack of clarity in the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions Act, which does not specify whether religious child welfare agencies must place children with couples in civil unions. …

“In Great Britain, Christians are now effectively second-class citizens, judged ‘unfit’ to care for foster children. If they are unfit to foster children, logically they are also unfit to adopt, and possibly as one British lawyer suggested to the press, unfit to parent their own children, too. Could it happen over here? Yes. We see the first steps of the …

In a case that has already seen heavy coverage in the American right-wing press, a British high court has backed a local city council decision to ban foster parents who vow to condemn homosexuality to their children. The case involves Eunice and Owen Johns, who say their right to be foster parents is being denied because of their religious views. …

Gov. David Paterson has signed a bill allowing all unmarried couples to jointly adopt in New York state. The measure signed by Gov. David Paterson also substitutes the gender-neutral term “married couple” in the adoption statute for “husband and wife.” According to sponsors, that partly codifies state appeals court rulings and clears up complications from joint adoption as a two-step …

DC’s Catholic Charities is pushing forward with its threat to close its soup kitchens and homeless shelters should the city legalize same-sex marriage. A double-speaking church spokesman tells Wolf Blitzer that Catholic Charities has “no intention” of ending its help to the poor, but a moment later says that “we can’t represent something that goes against our core beliefs.”

Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) has introduced a bill that would restrict federal child welfare funding from any state that discriminates against LGBT people attempting to adopt. Stark said in an interview that he introduced the legislation, H.R. 3827, in part because thousands of children each year “age out” of the child welfare system without finding homes. “We got 25,000 kids …

Idaho local news discusses the recent decision by a water park not to extend the family discount to a gay family because they “aren’t real.”

Know Thy Neighbor has posted the names of all 83,000 Arkansas voters who signed petitions calling for a ban on adoption by same-sex couples. Their database is searchable by zip code, last name, town, and county. “This is about responsibility and dialogue,” said Tom Lang, KnowThyNeighbor.org’s director. “These petition signers need to stand behind their signatures and be responsible for …

Malawi has shot down Madonna’s latest baby safari. A judge has rejected Madonna’s request to adopt a second child from Malawi because of a requirement that prospective parents live in the southern African nation for at least 18 months, a judge and a lawyer said Friday. The judge who confirmed the decision did not make the ruling, but saw it. …