Lesbian couple can keep baby, Utah judge says in reversal

A Utah judge has reversed a decision to take a baby away from her lesbian foster parents and place her with a heterosexual couple after widespread backlash.

Court officials on Friday released an order signed by Judge Scott Johansen that will allow the 9-month-old baby to stay with April Hoagland and Beckie Peirce.

It comes after Johansen said in court Tuesday that the baby was would be removed from the couple's home. Utah officials and the couple filed court challenges demanding the judge rescind the order.

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Utah Division of Child and Family Services officials had said Thursday in a statement that they would fight the ruling at the appeals court if Judge Scott Johansen didn’t rescind his decision.

The state agency said the judge had gone against its recommendation that the 9-month old baby should stay with April Hoagland and Beckie Peirce, a married couple in Price, Utah.

In his decision, Johansen mentioned research that shows children do better when raised by heterosexual families, state officials said. However, the American Psychological Association has said there’s no scientific basis for believing that gays and lesbians are unfit parents based on sexual orientation.

A full transcript of the ruling has not been made public and may not be because court records of cases involving foster children are kept private to protect the kids. Johansen is precluded by judicial rules from discussing pending cases, Utah courts spokeswoman Nancy Volmer said.

The decision generated widespread criticism, including from national LGBT groups and Utah Gov. Gary Herbert.

Herbert said Thursday that Johansen should follow the law and not inject his personal beliefs into the decision. The state’s Republican governor told reporters that he was puzzled by Judge Scott Johansen’s ruling.

“He may not like the law, but he should follow the law. We don’t want to have activism on the bench in any way, shape or form,” the governor said.

Herbert added that the judge should not “inject his own personal beliefs and feelings in superseding the law.”

The ruling came during a routine hearing Tuesday for the couple in the central Utah city of Price.

The couple is part of a group of same-sex married couples who were allowed to become foster parents in Utah after last summer’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that made gay marriage legal across the country. State officials don’t keep an exact count but estimate there are a dozen or more foster parents who are married same-sex couples.

This story was originally published November 13, 2015 at 12:02 PM with the headline "Lesbian couple can keep baby, Utah judge says in reversal."