A British tribunal has ruled that Catholic adoption programs cannot refuse service to same-sex couples who wish to adopt. According to a June 3 article by Steve Doughty of the Daily Mail Online, some Catholic adoption agencies may close as a result of the decision:

Judges ruled in a test case that the charities, which find homes for hundreds of children each year, will be breaking the law if they refuse to accept same-sex couples as adoptive parents.

The ruling means some Catholic agencies face a choice between abandoning their adoption services or their religious principles. ...

Following the ruling a spokesman for the diocese said: 'As the charities cannot provide unrestricted services without being in breach of their obligations to act in accordance with the tenets of the Roman Catholic Church, it seems likely that the charities will need to close their adoption services and a flagship service of the charities will be lost.

In the United States, laws governing same-sex adoption adopt vary from state to state.

Labels: international, same-sex couples