What Challenges Do LGBTQ+ People Face with Adoption in Georgia?

In 2015, the landmark Supreme Court ruling on Obergefell v. Hodges established that same-sex couples throughout the United States had the right to marry. This decision, however, did not directly address same-sex parenting or adoption, so some confusion remains.

This is especially true in Georgia. Georgia’s state legislature has not yet removed statute 19-3-3.1, which prohibits same-sex marriages. Although the state cannot enforce this unconstitutional law, the mere fact it remains may serve as a sign that same-sex couples can still face discrimination and other challenges on their way to parenthood.

Same-Sex Couples May Face Extra Challenges on Their Path to Adoption

For many people, marriage and parenthood go hand-in-hand. Studies have found that same-sex couples have roughly the same desire to raise children as other people. Indeed, a recent survey from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law found that roughly 41% of married same-sex couples under the age of 50 hoped to become parents.

The survey found roughly the same desire to become parents among other populations:

• 39% of cisgender men
• 41% of cisgender women
• 43% of transgender respondents

Same-sex couples may share the same desire to become parents as other people, but they often face extra hurdles. These are rooted in finances, legal ambiguity and cultural biases:

• As the Williams Institute noted, same-sex couples tend to prefer biological pathways to parenthood. These include options like insemination and surrogacy. Approximately, 61% of survey respondents stated they preferred these pathways. Only 36% preferred adoption. However, the biological methods tend to be expensive, so the majority of same-sex couples (51%) say they plan to pursue adoption.
• The legal challenges to same-sex adoption are more complex. Georgia’s laws do not prevent same-sex couples from adopting. However, they do not outlaw the biased policies shared by many adoption agencies. In fact, the Family Equality Council notes that most states are “silent” on the issues of LGBTQ+ people becoming adoptive parents. This silence can leave same-sex couples “vulnerable to the potential bias of individual agencies, child welfare professionals, and family court judges.”
• This takes us to the biases held by these individual agencies, professionals and judges. When some adoption agencies may refuse to work with same-sex couples, the couples tend to have fewer options. They may also have to work harder than other people to prove their fitness as potential parents.

These challenges are not fair to same-sex couples. Unfortunately, they are the reality at this time. Until Georgia’s lawmakers decide to help out, same-sex couples will continue to face extra hurdles throughout the adoption process.

Things Are Better Than They Were

Despite these extra challenges, it may be encouraging to acknowledge that the laws are friendlier to same-sex couples now than they were a decade back.

• Nothing in Georgia’s laws prohibit LGBTQ+ individuals from pursuing adoption.
• State law says that only married couples can adopt jointly. Prior to 2015, this prevented same-sex couples from pursuing joint adoption. However, the Supreme Court case that recognized same-sex marriages nationwide paved the way for married same-sex couples in Georgia to seek joint adoption.
• Georgia also permits any married person to pursue stepparent adoption. This provides another pathway for same-sex couples to both become legal parents. In cases where one spouse is the biological parent or has already adopted, the other spouse can pursue stepparent adoption to secure the full legal rights afforded to a child’s parent.

Georgia still has a long way to go toward equal rights and opportunities. Still, the existing pathways make same-sex adoptions possible.

Same-Sex Couples Can Benefit from Experienced Guidance

The adoption process can be stressful and trying for any potential parent. It can be even more stressful for same-sex couples who face uncooperative agencies and biased authorities.

Accordingly, it may be helpful for same-sex couples to seek legal guidance. Attorneys with adoption experience can help prospective parents navigate the system efficiently. They can prepare couples for the challenges they are likely to encounter. And couples prepared to meet these challenges are more likely to overcome them.

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