Judge Removes Child From Lesbian Home

The West Virginia Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal to a case where a judge from a lower court ruled that a child be removed from a home where it had raised from birth in order to be placed with a married opposite-sex couple.

Fayette Circuit Judge Paul Blake originally agreed to allow Kathyrn Kutil and Cheryl Hess, a lesbian couple, to be foster parents for the infant girl, after a positive assessment by the Department of Health and Human Resources was received by the court.

Court records show that the child in question was born to a drug addicted mother, and had cocaine, opiates and benzodiazepines in her system at birth, which caused the infant girl to experience withdraw reactions. The father of the child remains unknown.

The child was placed with the couple, again who had been approved as foster parents, after the department was unable to locate any blood relatives of the mother.

Now, a year later, after the couple applied to adopt the little girl both the Department and Judge has had second thoughts. In his ruling, Judge 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, even though there was not one immediately available.

The judge stated 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.

Blake stated;

“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. 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. The state laws say 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 has also 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.