A Utah juvenile court judge on Friday
rescinded his order to remove a baby girl from her lesbian foster
parents and place the 9-month-old with a heterosexual couple.
In ordering the couple to give up the
baby, Judge Scott Johansen reportedly said that “kids in homosexual
homes don't do as well as they do in heterosexual homes.”
The change means married couple April
Hoagland and Beckie Peirce will keep the baby, but child welfare
officials said that that could change after a custody hearing
scheduled for Friday, December 4.
The couple told CBS News that they
believe Johansen, a bishop in the Mormon Church, imposed his
religious beliefs in deciding their case.
“This is all about sexual
orientation, not what is best for the child,” Peirce
said.
Utah Governor Gary Herbert and the
Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest LGBT rights
advocate, were among those who criticized the judge's initial order
to remove the baby from the couple's care within a week.