Missouri Drops Appeal Against Lesbian Foster Parents

Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon said that the state plans to drop its legal challenge against a Kansas City lesbian who sued the state after the state had rejected her application to become a foster parent.

In 2003, Lisa Johnston and Dawn Roginski applied with the Department of Social Services in Missouri in hope of becoming foster parents. Johnston had even started her training to get her license when the application was rejected on the grounds that a child raised by a same-sex couple might face social disapproval.

Johnston sued the state on grounds that being a lesbian wasn't a viable reason to deny her a license. The Department of Social Services on the other hand argued that Johnston was not of "reputable character" based upon Missouri's same-sex sodomy ban.

Attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union said the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Lawrence v. Texas, which struck down a Texas law against sodomy in private settings, invalidated Missouri's law.

Earlier this year, Jackson County Circuit Judge Sandra Midkiff ruled that Missouri could not deny a lesbian a foster parent license.

The judge ordered the agency to resume training for the couple and to grant Johnston a license if she passed. Johnston has a bachelor's degree in human development and family with special emphasis on child development.