A judge in the U.S. state of Utah has reversed a controversial decision that ordered a baby of a lesbian couple to be transferred to a heterosexual couple after he faced a backlash.
On Tuesday last week, Judge Scott Johansen ruled that the nine-month-old baby of lesbian couple April Hoagland and Beckie Peirce should be removed from them, saying research showed that children do better in a heterosexual family, according to the Associated Press.
But on Friday, he reversed his decision and allowed the baby to stay with the lesbian couple, who are married.
The American Psychological Association said there's no scientific evidence to show that gay couples are unfit parents based on sexual orientation.
Hoagland and Peirce were allowed to become foster parents after the U.S. Supreme Court legalised same-sex marriage in June.
Even Republican Utah Gov. Gary Herbet supported the couple, saying the judge should follow the law and not inject personal beliefs in his decisions.
"I expect the court and the judge to follow the law. He may not like the law, but he should follow the law. We don't want to have activism on the bench in any way, shape or form," he said, according to Reuters.
The Utah Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) opposed the judge's removal ruling and filed a motion on Thursday urging Johansen to reverse his decision, threatening to file a petition with an appeals court to intervene if he did not change his order.
"The juvenile court judge made the determination that the child would be better served in the home of a heterosexual couple, and mentioned, but did not directly cite, research that supported his decision," DCFS said in a statement.
It added that "it is our position that this removal is not in the best interest of the child."
The American Civil Liberties Union in Utah said, "There is a clear scientific consensus that children of same-sex parents fare no differently than their peers. Claims to the contrary have been consistently rejected by the courts."
The couple's lawyer, Jim Hunnicutt, earlier said, "We've filed paperwork in the case to try to correct the judge's mistake."
He said the judge "acted in an unconstitutional and inappropriate way, against Utah and federal laws that make it clear that a judge cannot hold it against someone just because of their sexual orientation."
