Sacramento, CA - In a 6-1 decision, the California Supreme Court upheld the validity of second-parent adoptions by unmarried "parents." The decision recognizes thousands of adoptions by unmarried heterosexual and homosexual couples. The decision will directly impact those situations in which the biological parent no longer wishes for the live-in to continue a parental relationship with the child. 

This particular case involves a biological mother who split up with her live-in partner. Before the split-up, the partner had allegedly "adopted" the mother's six-year-old son, and was in the process of adopting her three-year-old son.

In the dissenting opinion, Justice Janice Rogers Brown contended that second-parent adoptions should be reserved for couples who are in a legal relationship and that the majority decision trivializes family bonds.

Appellate Attorney John Dodd commented on the case: "We are saddened that the Supreme Court has gone down the road of 'best interest' adoption, because as the concurring and dissenting opinions by Justices Baxter, Chin and Brown point out, the door is now open to adoptions by any number of persons, which would include cults, polygamist families, and any and all possible combinations and permutations of either related or unrelated persons."

"Part of the benefit to a child being adopted is the commitment that parents have to one another," said Pacific Justice Institute President Brad Dacus. "This decision negates any need for such a bonding commitment, and therefore opens the door to greater instability and trauma for the child."

The Pacific Justice Institute is a non-profit 501(c)(3) legal defense organization specializing in the defense of religious freedom, parental rights, and other civil liberties

P.O. Box 4366, Citrus Heights, CA 95611
Phone (916) 857-6900 Fax (916) 857-6902
www.pacificjustice.org