AdoptionBlogger.Com

Louisiana & Birth Certificates

The State of Louisiana has refused to reflect both parents names on the birth certificate of their son who was born in Louisiana and adopted in New York.

Case is now before the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals after the US District Court ruled in December 2008 that Louisiana's Office of Vital Records had to give full faith and credit to the New York STate court and place both of the child's parents names on the birth certificate.

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/ap/5th-us-circuit-court-hears-arguments-for-2-dads-63696112.html#

Michigan: Van Buren County eliminates requirement that one parent stay home

http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/news-34/1247669426227310.xml&coll=7

San Francisco Resolution Urging Vatican to Withdraw Directive Againt Gay Adoption Does Not Violate Establishment Clause

http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2009/06/ninth-circuit-upholds-resolution-urging.php

Florida Bar family law section's support for gay adoption cannot be silenced.

conservative group tried but failed to silence brief written by florida bar's family law section supporting gay adoption in florida.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/AP/story/1081401.html

West Virginia: Foster Care: Can't remove child because not in "traditional" home

In an unsigned opinion released Friday, the court granted Kathryn Kutil's and Cheryl Hess's petition for a writ of prohibition against Fayette County Circuit Judge Paul Blake's 2008 order that the 19-month-old girl whom the petitioners began caring for soon after her birth be placed in a foster home with a mother and father until she was officially adopted.

http://www.wvrecord.com/news/219438-court-sides-with-same-sex-couple-in-adoption-case

Michigan: Movement on Second-Parent Adoption

Bill sent to Michigan's House Judiciary Committee for full house consideration.

http://michiganmessenger.com/17506/bill-to-allow-second-parent-adoption-clears-house-judiciary-committee

Canadian Judge: Child punished for parent's illegal activities.

Canada's Assisted Human Reproduction Act (Federal) came into effect in 2004 and declares that it is an offense to offer payment to a surrogate mother and all surrogate contracts are illegal. 

A canadian couple located a surrogate on the internet and the surrogate agreed to be artificially inseminated with the intended father's sperm for a fee of $20,000 to cover her "expenses and drawbacks" of being pregnant.  When the baby girl was born, the surrogate mother's name was omitted from the birth certificate and the intended father's name inserted with the plan that the intended father's wife adopt the child. 

Judge DuBois declared "this child does not have a right to a maternal relationship at any price."  Hence, the child does not have a legally recognizable mother.

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=1382832

West Virginia: Child's "advocate" argues child should be adopted by a family with a "mother" and "father"

child's "advocate" argues that the child's "best interst" calls for the child to be removed from her home consisting of same-sex parents and placed with a home where the child can have a "legal mother" and "legal father". 

case now before the west virginia supreme court.

main issues:

1.  west virginia's statute that only a married husband and wife OR a single person can adopt; and

2.  whether the fact that the child is raised by same-sex parents is against the child's best intersts.

    http://wowktv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=54200

NY Court of Appeals: Parents cannot have deceased son's sperm

son battling cancer deposited his semen with a sperm bank and signed a contract indicating that the samples should be destroyed if he died.  He died and his parents sought the sperm samples to use as part of a surrogacy process to have grandchildren.  the sperm bank refused to honor the request in light of the contract and that the samples were not prescreened and could be a danger to the public health.  in a case of first impression, the court sided with the sperm bank and denied access noting that the state law requiring screening of the sample could no longer be accomplished because the son was deceased.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ivZIgSpAA6LASFtgXMZrwbyBO1gQD96MRO8G0

Israel: attorney general: right to aliyah valid for child adopted into non-jewish family.

attorney general of israel argues that right to aliyah should remain valid for a child born to a jewish parent but placed for adoption into a non-jewish home.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3665649,00.html