Lesbian foster parents win Missouri case

As reported by the Associated Press today, the state of Missouri plans to drop its legal challenge to a lesbian's efforts to become a foster parent because a new state law makes the appeal impossible.

A spokesman for Gov. Matt Blunt called the decision "outrageous" and said the governor wants the appeal to continue. Blunt's spokesman Spence Jackson said in Thursday editions of The Kansas City Star that if the Missouri Attorney General drops the case, "he is doing so without the consent of his client." "We don't believe placing a child with homosexual parents will provide an appropriate environment for foster children," Jackson said.

Jackson County Circuit Judge Sandra Midkiff ruled in February that Missouri could not deny Lisa Johnston a foster parent license and ordered the agency to resume training for her and her partner.

The State Department of Social Services decided to appeal, and the foster parent application was put on hold while each side prepared briefs for the Missouri Supreme Court. Department spokeswoman Deborah Scott said the policy to deny foster-parent licenses to same-sex couples remains in effect.