House Judiciary Committee members last week heard testimony on a bill (H 5226) that would provide a crucial next step in protecting LGBTQ+ families in Rhode Island, something that is urgently needed in light of the fallout from last summer’s U.S. Supreme Court Dobbs ruling and escalating anti-LGBTQ+ threats around the country.
H 5226/S 0121 is commonsense legislation that will make it more accessible for LGBTQ+ parents to ensure security for their families through a confirmatory adoption. While Rhode Island has clear paths for LGBTQ+ parents to establish legal parentage under the Uniform Parentage Act, passed in 2020, confirmatory adoption is important for LGBTQ+ families and other families who want to confirm their parentage through an adoption decree. An adoption decree is a court judgment that ensures recognition of parentage in all states.
For parents seeking an adoption to confirm, rather than to establish, their parentage, H 5226/S 0121 eliminates unnecessary requirements that aren’t appropriate for people who are already parents to their children and provides a streamlined path for such parents to petition a court for an adoption decree. Under current law, LGBTQ+ parents who wish to confirm parentage through adoption are forced to undergo burdensome and unnecessary steps to adopt their own children, which can include an invasive home study or investigation, a minimum period of residency in the home, an in-person court hearing, and more. This leaves children and families vulnerable because these additional steps can delay the adoption process or make such an adoption entirely out-of-reach for some families because of cost.
Language in the Supreme Court Dobbs ruling last June suggesting that the Court should reconsider the Obergefell marriage equality ruling in the future has created real fear for LGBTQ+ people that their marriages and families could be at risk. Recent court rulings in states including Oklahoma, Michigan, Texas, and Pennsylvania have in fact separated children from non-birth parents using justifications including outdated, gendered laws or a lack of application of the marital presumption. An adoption decree provides security for children.
— from an GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) press release.
Read the complete GLAD press release here.
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