Adopting a child can be one of the most rewarding experiences of a lifetime. When it comes to starting a family, many LGBT couples and individuals choose this option. Before , many states banned LGBT folks from adopting children, either due to legal barriers, because of discrimination, or both. Since state law often favored married couples in the adoption process, states that did not allow LGBT couples to marry were particularly challenging, if not impossible, for caring would-be parents to adopt children desperately in need of homes. In when gay marriage became legalized nationwide with Obergefell v.

LGBT Adoption in California



Gay Adoption - Adoption | adonipub.com
The U. Same-sex sexual activity between consenting adults has been legal since the New York v. Onofre case in Same-sex marriage has been legal statewide since , with some cities recognizing domestic partnerships between same-sex couples since Discrimination protections in credit, housing, employment, education, and public accommodation have explicitly included sexual orientation since and gender identity or expression since


We first hear of out LGBTQ parents around the time of World War II, mostly in the context of cases that denied them child custody after divorce from different-sex, cisgender spouses. Several other states continued to ban unmarried couples, though, effectively stopping same-sex couples from adopting until marriage equality became federal law in In the s, too, female couples and single women increasingly began to start their families together through pregnancy. In , the Sperm Bank of California opened as the first fertility clinic in the country to serve this market although many queer people had been doing home inseminations for years before. In , Matt Rice became possibly the first transgender man to give birth in the U.




Thinking about adopting in the United States? Check out this overview of domestic adoption for gay men. Thinking about adoption? Gay men have more opportunities and options than ever before, but to be successful it is vital to know your options and understand the landscape of adoptions today.