Judge won’t take baby from lesbian couple – for now

A  judge in Utah has amended his outrageous order to have a foster child removed from the care of a couple because they are lesbian.

Judge Scott Johansen previously told social workers to take the nine-month-old baby away from April Hoagland and Beckie Peirce because he claimed that studies showed that children did better when raised by heterosexual families.

According to FOX 13, the juvenile court judge has since scratched out his original decision ordering the removal of the little girl from the couple’s home.

He also scratched out his unverified claim that “the emotional problems suffered by children in same-sex relationships increase by a factor of four compared to children raised by heterosexual couples.”

It’s not known where Johansen found this information as he refused to disclose the source, despite several requests to do so.

An overwhelming amount of studies have shown that children do equally well when raised by same-sex parents.

The judge’s reversal follows a request by the Utah Attorney General’s Office asking him to reconsider his decision.

Johansen’s unexpected ruling came during a procedural hearing about the child’s foster care and was not initiated by any concerns or incidents.

The case will be addressed again in a custody hearing in December where it is possible that Johansen could reinstate his order to remove the child from the couple.

Hoagland and Peirce are married and were approved as foster parents earlier this year. They have been supported by the baby’s biological mother, Utah’s Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) and the state’s governor.

The DCFS said it will challenge the judge in the courts if he again decides to try to take the child from Hoagland and Peirce.