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Loading ...Judge Removes Child From Lesbian Parents
12.12.2008 1:27pm EST
(Charleston, West Virginia) The West Virginia Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving a lesbian couple’s appeal of a lower court ruling that removed a child they had reared from birth because the judge wanted the child placed with a married opposite-sex couple.
Fayette Circuit Judge Paul Blake originally agreed to allow Kathyrn Kutil and Cheryl Hess to be foster parents for the infant girl, following a positive assessment by the Department of Health and Human Resources.Court records show that the little girl was born to a drug addicted mother and the baby had had cocaine, opiates and benzodiazepines in her system. Shortly after birth the baby went through drug withdrawal. The father was unknown.
The Department placed the child with Kutil and Hess, who had been approved as foster parents, when it could not find any blood relatives of the mother.
But nearly a year later when the couple applied to adopt the little girl both the Department and Judge Blake balked. In his ruling Blake ordered the child removed saying the baby should be permanently placed in a home where the parents would be a married opposite-sex couple.
The ruling said that he had agreed to allow the women to foster the child because it was the best option at the time. But he never intended it to be permanent.
"I think I’ve indicated time and time again, this court’s opinion is that the best interest of a child is to be raised by a traditional family, mother and father," Blake’s ruling said.
"Now, that’s this court’s opinion as to what a typical West Virginian would feel and what the typical attitude is of the West Virginia Supreme Court, a traditional family."
In their appeal to the state, Supreme Court the women argue that Blake exceeded his authority and violated their constitutional rights. The appeal argues that Blake is "setting a dangerous precedent" for discriminatory treatment of non-traditional families.
A different judge recently approved Kutil’s adoption of a 12-year-old girl whom she’d been fostering for over two years, the appeal notes.
West Virginia law allows either single individuals or married couples to adopt. It says nothing about same-sex couples.
In a 4-1 vote the high court agreed to take the case. Oral arguments will be held on March 11.
The court had granted an emergency stay of Judge Blake’s order. The little girl will be allowed to stay with the women until the Supreme Court rules.
I’m just going to say the obvious. With this mentality, wouldn’t all children of single parents be taken away so that the children can be moved into “traditional families”. Or children being raised by their grandparents or any family member. Single women (heterosexual at least) can also adopt children without being married, but I guess that has to be thrown out the window because of the core values of a traditional family… so “traditional” in America that they same sex couple will divorce like the high percentage of most marriages. Yay for Tradition!!! Wait… does this court allow African Americans to adopt since we are apparently dealing with the Stone Ages? Welcome to the Paleolithic era! I’ll be inventing a wheel and making stone tools in this corner.
So, it’s here you can foster this drug addicted baby because noone else will do it. Now that the bad part is over, I’m sure that there is a straight married couple who would take the baby. Real nice.
I bet I can guess the judge’s religion.
This is sad and pathetic.
Now THAT is an ACTIVIST Judge! This judge’s logic is so absurd, it seriously calls into question his fitness to actually BE a judge in the first place.
No sir, Mr. Canadian_Atheist, you can’t because you live nowhere near the state and unless you have been to West Virginia as I have, you don’t know the area and are not even living in the USA.
I live in the USA and my state Maryland borders on West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Delaware and DC I know people in all those states and in DC.
Religion is very personal matter and
how one views it is a highly individual matter. Since neither you nor I personally know this judge, to say that you already think you know his religion (or that of any other man you didn’t know of prior to a particular news article) is a rather odd comment to make, sir.
Think you got this guy all figured out and neatly pigeon-holed. He just be another atheist, but one with traditional views of straight relationships as the “norm” and gay relationships as being “not the norm”.
West Virginia is a largely mountain state with a lot of poor folk living there and some from out of the state who have settled in the eastern panhandle lacking a country, Southern or local accent of the mountain folk. People who are largely used to straight relationships in whatever form they take. Most of them are not used to gay relationships and likely consider them unnatural.
Some go to church and some don’t. How do you know if this judge goes to church or not? How do you know if this man is religious or not? you don’t. You are just making assumptions.
But there are also very sweet folk there who are friendly and consider gay and straight all the same. And some that are just ignorant who are used to tossing trash out the car window in the road coming down the mountain going past the cabin where my gay friend and his partner live.
My friend comes out to collect the litter every morning.
(That cabin is not visible from the road)
I think THAT the judge is being cruel n unfair.obviously he felt as though these 己 ladies where fit n stable enough TO temporarily provide n take care of the child so wat made him go bak on his decision.that’s not fair AND its wrong.for the two ladies im praying for yall n I hope everything turns out well n the end.
This just pisses me off! What the hell is going on in this country? This child has been in this home since birth and now ,because it’s a same-sex couple home,he takes the child away?
When will this shit end? I am so upset by this. It’s just WRONG!
My heart is just pounding in anger reading this. How dare that judge think a “tradional family” is best for a baby that has been loved and cared for her entire life by two obviously great people. Not everyone is cut out to foster and love another’s child but these two women do it! I have raised my own two daughters from birth and now at 17 and 20 they have exemplary manners, are inclusive to a fault, are moral and decent and contribute to society. Nothing different than how this baby will be by being raised by two good, loving moms. Shame on that judge!! How dare he? He needs to check the divorce rate in his state before he throws darts at lesbians. Bastard!
Mickey, my reaction exactly. Most days I feel optimistic that LGBT people will see equality in my lifetime. Not in everyone’s heart (we haven’t cured racism and sexism yet), but at least in the law. Then I see a story like this. Maybe it’s the hard week I’ve had, but I just want to cry. For every three steps forward, some homophobic nut job pulls us two steps back. It just sucks.
pfft.. its amazing how much politics and religion are closely bonded, in not just America, but many other countries. Countries around the world should base their laws on morality, not religion.
Sorry Morgan but it’s pretty clear this judge is a christianist. What are the odds of the judge being jewish or a muslim in WV? $100.00 says the judge isn’t an atheist or agnostic either. It’s pretty obvious he’s using that dusty old tome written by men lost in the desert centuries ago and applying the hatred within in modern times. The judge is being judged and though we don’t know him, he probably doesn’t know the women who are appealing his mistaken decision. Not all of the people of WV are like this judge and it was nice that you included a demographic in your comment. Some people are douche bags and go to church, some people are douche bags that don’t. Some people need the supernatural to believe in and others don’t.
I am no longer surprised at the cruelties of my country. I have become ashamed of this country and do not feel a part of it anymore. My partner is from a Spanish speaking country. I will learn Spanish and when eligible for early retirement, we have decided to leave this country and move to Spain.
This just wrong. It should never be an issue.
Amazing! I was a Children’s Services worker many years ago. The interesting fact is that it’s often the gay men, lesbians and single straight folk that actually take these special needs babies and bring them back to health. Many “str8 couples” do not picture a crack addicted baby as “their perfect bundle of joy.”
So now that this child is detoxed and apparently through the hard spot the Judge thinks the str8 folk should take over.
You know, I just don’t understand it. Why is it that the gays have to clean up all of str8 societies messes? We rehab their neighborhoods, do charitable work and obviously clean up children so that they can be “appropriate” for str8 couples.
Sad, Sad, Sad.
What was that we’ve been hearing about “activist judges”? I’ll take one of those any day against a “bigoted Judge.” That man is a disgrace to the bench and the judicial system!