Melissa
Cox, Esq.
A Michigan same-sex
couple, April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse, have been at the center of the recent
news coverage on the upcoming United States Supreme Court case on same sex
marriage. The Supreme Court heard arguments on the case last week.
DeBoer and Rowse are both
nurses who have each separately adopted two children. The Michigan Adoption
Code allows individuals or married couples to adopt but not two unmarried
persons. Effectively, the law does not
permit same-sex couples to jointly adopt.
The couple originally did
not expect to be leading the way on marriage equality. However, after a health
scare with one of their sons and a near-miss on what could have been a deadly
car accident, they started to look more closely into the state’s laws. The
couple discovered that if one of them died, a judge could give the children to
someone other than their partner.
That led to their
challenge of Michigan’s marriage law.
An estimated 110,000
thousand children across the country live with gay parents. If the Supreme
Court strikes down same-sex marriage prohibitions, then states like Michigan
that currently ban same-sex marriage would almost certainly see an increase in
adoptions by same sex spouses.
If such couples are
allowed to legally marry after the Supreme Court’s decision, then, DeBoer and
Rowse, for example, could jointly adopt their four children together through a stepparent
adoption, whereby a child can be adopted by their legal parent’s spouse.
However, other types of
adoption may not increase so easily, as efforts are already underway in
Michigan and other states that would may preempt the Supreme Court’s impending
decision on gay marriage. In particular, legislation was recently introduced
that would allow an adoption agency to select who they service based on
“sincerely held religious beliefs contained in a written policy” (of the
adoption agency).
Thus, whatever the Supreme
Court’s decision on gay marriage, it appears the debate over same-sex adoption
will continue in the coming years.
If
you have any questions about adoptions in Michigan or questions about the
Michigan Adoption Code, don’t hesitate to contact Attorney Melissa Cox. The
adoption process can be complex, and at Fausone Bohn, LLP we serve as strong
client advocates. Contact our Metro Detroit Office today at 248-468-4536 or
visit us online at www.fb-firm.com.
You can read more on the
upcoming Supreme Court case here: http://www.npr.org/2015/04/20/401007033/meet-the-accidental-activists-of-the-supreme-courts-same-sex-marriage-case
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