COMMENTARY | April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse, a Detroit Metro lesbian couple, sought federal court assistance on Jan. 23 in preventing the state of Michigan from enforcing a law stating unmarried couples may not adopt children, according to The Detroit News. The couple, who have been together for a decade, have each adopted children as single individuals, something Michigan state law permits.
According to the Michigan Adoption Resource Exchange, “Only one parent of a non-married couple can legally adopt a child in Michigan. Michigan permits single GLBT adoption but prohibits joint adoption.” The couple and their lawyers assert the state’s attempt to prevent them from adopting children together is a violation of their constitutional rights, specifically the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment, which Cornell University Law School defines as “denying any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
Given the couple are in a committed relationship and are prohibited from marrying by Michigan law, they have a point. Together, they are successfully raising children they have adopted separately, proof they are fit for the role. It is only fair that they should be provided the same rights as married couples, especially because remaining unmarried is not their choice.
Furthermore, by refusing both women the right to jointly adopt, the children’s welfare is at stake. In the event either adoptive parent dies or is no longer able to adequately care for the children, the other parent retains no legal custody of the them, opening up the potential for the state to remove the children from the home.
In addition to citing civil rights violations in their suit, the couple’s lawyers also point to the results of a University of Virginia study published in 2010, which found that “parental sexual orientation was unrelated to children’s adjustment.” That a couple’s sexual orientation plays no role in a child’s healthy development further supports their right to share custody of their adopted children.
Named in the suit is Gov. Rick Snyder, whose spokeswoman, Sara Wurfel, along with Attorney General Bill Schuette’s spokesman, John Sellek, maintain the women’s right to jointly adopt is dependent upon the legislature, which, in a case like this, holds the power to alter the law, according to The Detroit News. Until the law is amended or the federal court acts on the couple’s behalf, the children — a girl and two boys — must legally remain the sole custody of their respective adoptive parents.
Sources:
Robert Snell, “Lesbian couple takes Michigan adoption ban to federal court,” The Detroit News
“Where Do I Begin?: Answers to Your Questions About Adoption and Foster Care”, Michigan Adoption Resource Exchange
“Equal Protection: An Overview,” Cornell University Law School
Article I, Section 25, Michigan Legislature
“Parenting and Child Development in Adoptive Families: Does Parental Sexual Orientation Matter?”, University of Virginia