LGBTQ Parenting Roundup
For your Friday enjoyment—a few stories from round and about on the adventure that is LGBTQ parenting.
Happy almost-weekend, all!
Foster Parenting
Watch the Video on Adoption Discrimination that Fox News Found “Too Powerful”
It’s no secret to most readers here that so-called “religious freedom” laws on adoption and foster care in several states are nothing more than permission to discriminate—often against LGBTQ prospective parents and LGBTQ youth, among others. The ultimate effect is that child welfare agencies are allowed to act in ways contrary to the best interests of the children in their care. When a leading LGBTQ equality think tank tried to place a 30-second ad about this on Fox News, however, the network refused to air it.
New PBS Series Follows Queer Couple Adopting from Foster Care
Nicole and Kristan want to start a family, and they’re taking us along on the journey as they venture into the world of foster-to-adopt care, facing the emotional and sometimes funny challenges of bureaucracy, childproofing, and patience. Watch a trailer.
The Price of LGBTQ Parenthood
What does it cost for an LGBTQ person to become a parent and raise a child in the U.S. today? What are the particular challenges we face? I investigate those questions in a new article for the Advocate.
Texas Joins List of States Allowing Discrimination in Adoption and Foster Care
The governor of Texas has added his state to the list of those that allow child placement agencies to discriminate against LGBTQ, Jewish, Muslim, single, divorced, or other prospective parents based on the agency’s “sincerely held religious beliefs.” This will serve to limit the number of homes available to children in need. The new law will also permit LGBTQ youth to be sent to widely discredited “conversion therapy” and allow agencies to refuse to refer people to medically appropriate reproductive health services.
Every Child Deserves a Family Act Reintroduced to Ensure Children Find Homes
For the fifth Congress in a row, the Every Child Deserves a Family Act has been introduced in an attempt to ensure that no child in need of a home is denied one because of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Texas Advances Anti-LGBTQ Legislation Harmful to Children
The Texas legislature has advanced two bills that will cause harm to children living in the state. One keeps transgender students from using the bathroom that matches their gender identity; the other allows religion-based discrimination in adoption and foster care.
New Documentary Highlights LGBTQ Foster Families
May is National Foster Care Month, so what better time to watch the new documentary Finding Life, about LGBTQ foster parents and their children?
Presidential Foster Care Month Proclamation Omits Mention of LGBTQ Parents
I can’t say I’m surprised. But after President Obama’s National Foster Care Month proclamations in 2015 and 2016 specifically said that “regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status,” all qualified caregivers should have the opportunity to serve as foster or adoptive parents, President Trump’s omission of these categories feels narrow-minded and short-sighted.
Last Ban on Gay and Lesbian Foster Parents Falls — with an Asterisk
Yesterday, the Nebraska Supreme Court struck down the state’s ban on “homosexuals” becoming foster parents, meaning that gay men and lesbians can now be treated equally in foster care placements in all 50 states—maybe.