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Second Parent Adoption Bill Action Alert!
Announcing Bill to Expand Pool of Parents Eligible to Adopt a Child in Michigan (02/12/2007)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday February 12, 2007
Contact : Rep Paul Condino
517-373-1788
LANSING - State Representative Paul Condino (D-Southfield) today announced
he is introducing a bill that will expand the pool of parents eligible
to adopt a child in Michigan.
"Study after study shows how important a safe, loving home with two
stable parents is to children," Condino said. "While it would
be ideal to hope that all of those parents would be married to each other,
many adults do not or cannot marry for a variety of reasons. Their children
should not bear the legal burden of this decision."
Condino's bill would amend the Probate Code to state that two unmarried
persons may jointly adopt a child in Michigan. In addition, the bill would
clarify that an already existing legal parent would not need to terminate
his or her parental rights in order to consent to a second person adopting
the child. Condino's bill would not diminish existing parental rights
for birth parents in any way.
In 2005, representatives from the 93 congregations in the Episcopal Diocese
of Michigan passed a resolution supporting legislation legalizing second-parent
adoptions. "As a Christian community, we find no legitimate reason
not to support this issue," said Bishop Wendell N. Gibbs, Jr., Bishop
of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan. "The facts are in and the time
for deliberation is over. There are over 17,000 Michigan children in foster
care and 6,000 are available for adoption. It is no longer reasonable
to believe that a couple must participate in the institution of marriage
in order to be good parents."
Condino notes that under current law, disastrous things can happen if
two parents are raising a child but only one is the legal parent. Non-legal
parents lack the ability to make medical decisions for their children,
as well as other important parental decisions. If something happens to
the legal parent, the other parent has no legal rights to his or her child.
In many cases, courts separate parents and children altogether because
of the lack of legal standing.
"We know that our opponents will be vocal, and that they will attempt
to claim the moral high ground with proclamations about what truly constitutes
a family," Condino said. "I introduce this bill today in support
of all those parents in Michigan who work so hard for their children every
day, but whose efforts are not legally recognized."
Click here to track the progress of the Second Parent Adoption Bill.
On this page...
02/12/07 - Bill to be Introduced