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Author Archives: Ann Wrixon
Arizona Governor Signs Anti-Gay Adoption Law
On April 18, 2011, Arizona Governor, Jan Brewer, signed a law that gives married heterosexual couples priority when Arizona adoption agencies are placing children for adoption or foster care. According to a statement issued by Tom Mann, Board Chairman of Equality Arizona, “SB 1188 takes the focus off of what’s in the best interest of [...]
Posted in Adoption News
Tagged adoption rights, arizona adoption, gay adoption, legal issues in adoption, lesbian adoption
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Illinois Senate Committee Rejects Bill to Allow Adoption Discrimination against LGBT Families
On April 13, 2011, an Illinois State Senate Committee rejected a proposed law that would have allowed religious organizations to deny services to LGBT families seeking to adopt or foster children. According to the Huffington Post, “The legislation, which was sponsored by Democratic Sen. David Koehler, would have amended the state’s recently passed civil unions [...]
Posted in Adoption News
Tagged adoption rights, gay adoption, gay marriage, illinois adoption, legal issues in adoption, lesbian adoption
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Arkansas Ban on Same Sex Adoptions Ruled Unconstitutional
On April 7, 2011, the Arkansas Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that prohibiting unmarried co-habiting adults from fostering and adopting is unconstitutional. Arkansas voters passed the prohibition in November 2008, and its main aim was to stop adoptions by same sex couples. According to the opinion written by Associate Justice Robert Brown, the [...]
Posted in Adoption News
Tagged adoption rights, arkansas adoption, gay adoption, lesbian adoption
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Open Adoption Magazine, Spring 2011, Available for Download
Download the full version here. Recent events in Japan have reminded me of the importance of staying connected with friends and family. Myself and a few other IAC staff members have special connections with people in Japan whose lives have been heavily affected by these occurrences. How fortunate we are to have resources like the [...]
Posted in Open Adoption Magazine
Tagged adoption networking, birthmothers, open adoption, Open Adoption Magazine
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Obama Administration Ends Defense of Anti-LGBT Marriage Law
The Obama Administration decided to discontinue defending the federal gay marriage law that denies married lesbians and gay men the same rights as those accorded to heterosexual married couples. According to the today’s New York Times, “Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. sent a letter to Congress on Wednesday saying that the Justice Department will [...]
Posted in Adoption News
Tagged adoption rights, gay adoption, legal issues in adoption, lesbian adoption
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Son of Lesbian Mothers Speaks Out Against Iowa’s Legislation to Ban Gay Marriage
Please take 3 minutes to watch this video. A 19-year old man, Zach Wahls, who was raised by lesbian mothers, speaks in defense of same sex marriage. But the most compelling argument he makes is that children raised by lesbian mothers have excellent outcomes. He is a prime example of what the research has already [...]
Posted in Adopted Children, Adoptive Families, LGBT Adoption
Tagged adoption myths, adoption rights, gay adoption, legal issues in adoption, lesbian adoption
12 Comments
North Carolina Supreme Court Voids Second Parent Adoptions
Today the North Carolina Supreme Court voided second-parent adoptions in the state. This ruling affects all second parent adoptions in the state, but has the biggest impact on same-sex couples. The Supreme Court indicated that they believe second parent adoption is an issue that the legislature needs to address because current North Carolina state law [...]
Posted in Uncategorized
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Gay and Lesbian Parents Raise Well-Adjusted Children: IAC Families Participate in Groundbreaking Study
Researchers at the University of Virginia and George Washington University published the results of a study showing that the adjustment of adopted children of Lesbians and Gay males is not only on par, but slightly better, than for children of Heterosexual parents. Five adoption agencies, including the IAC, recruited families to participate in the study. [...]
Posted in LGBT Adoption
Tagged adoption myths, adoption research, gay adoption, lesbian adoption
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Should I work with An Agency or an Attorney?
As you consider adoption you may be overwhelmed by the options available and have no idea how to choose. The most basic question is: should you work with an agency or an adoption attorney and how should you decide? Although I run an adoption agency, I do not think that agencies are superior to attorneys. [...]
Wait Times for Adoptive Placements in LGBT Families
People often assume that LGBT families wait longer for an adoption placement than Heterosexual families. This is not true. At IAC, LGBT families have the same or shorter wait times. It is important, however, for LGBT families to work with agencies that do not discriminate or use unintentionally biased practices. For example, some agencies ask [...]