Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Chris Piazza has ruled Arkansas’ ban on adoption by unmarried, cohabitating couples violates the principles of due process and equal protection, and constitutes an unwarranted invasion of privacy. The Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported:
He said in his two-page ruling that people in “non-marital relationships” are forced to choose between becoming a parent and sustaining that relationship. Piazza wrote that the act was “especially troubling” in how it singled out the “politically unpopular group.”
“Due process and equal protection are not hollow words without substance,” he said. “They are rights enumerated in our constitution that must not be construed in such a way as to deny or disparage other rights retained by the people.”
Piazza agreed with claims by families who said the ban lessened the number of available adoptive and foster parents to the point where thousands of children could go without homes
