Adoption

Fairness WV supports families’ rights– and applauds the West Virginia Supreme Court’s decision in Kutil v. Blake (2009). The West Virginia Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a foster child should remain in the care of her loving parents, a same-sex couple.

This Supreme Court ruling overturned a Fayette County judge’s November 2008 anti-gay ruling that the young girl should be taken from the only home she knew solely because of her parents’ sexual orientation.

The child’s court-appointed guardian stated that even though the home appeared “to be comfortable and physically safe for the infant…” he believed “that the best interest of the child is not to be raised… in a homosexual environment and that the same is detrimental to the child’s overall welfare and well-being.” In actuality, though, research shows that children of same-sex couples are just as well-adjusted as those raised in other types of families. Parenting style, not sexual orientation, affects child development.

This lower court judge’s decision would have set a dangerous precedent allowing unfair discrimination against diverse types of families.

Together with Foster Care Alumni of America, COLAGE, and Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of the Eastern Panhandle, Inc., Fairness West Virginia submitted a joint amicus brief advising the court to respect the diversity of families in West Virginia.

Stephen Skinner, council for amicus curiae and president of the board of directors of Fairness WV, commented,

“The Court was clear: children come first. And families headed by same-sex couples are families, too.”

Find out more about the case at the West Virginia Supreme Court’s website and at Lambda Legal’s website.