The laws in Indiana are on the road to changing for many same-sex couples. While other states are still holding onto the past and not providing some of the rights to these couples as what can be found in Indiana, there have been some massive changes that allow same-sex couples to fall under a protected class for work, school, and other situations. One area where there have been some changes is in the area of adoption.
Even in some progressive states that do protect same-sex couples under their laws, these couples may face trouble when it is time to adopt. Since they are not able to have children of their own, same-sex couples may look to adoption to grow their families and make it complete. Indiana does allow for this to happen, though there may still be some roadblocks in place depending on the adoption agency the couple chooses and the biological parents who are giving up the child.
According to the current laws in Indiana, a single LGBT person is allowed to adopt a child if they choose to and meet all of the other requirements that are outlined by the adoption agency they choose to work with. It was in 2006 when the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that unmarried couples of any sex, which would include same-sex couples, would be allowed to adopt as well. Since unmarried heterosexual couples are allowed to come together and adopt under this law, it makes sense that many same-sex couples would do the same thing.
Local courts tend to take this a bit further. If an LGBT individual has a child, either a biological child or one from adoption, then it is possible for that individual’s same-sex partner to adopt the child legally as well in the state of Indiana. They will need to go through the same processes as other couples do to make this happen.
Adoption isn’t just about becoming the parents of a child who is biologically someone else’s. There are times when artificial insemination can happen and one of the partners in a same-sex relationship will be pregnant, but the child does not belong to the other partner in that relationship. The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled in 2005 that if lesbian partners agreed together to have a child through artificial insemination, then both of them would be considered the legal parents of that child.
Then in 2016, it was the federal courts that required that the state of Indiana, and other states as well, would need to put down the names of both same-sex partners on a birth certificate of the child if artificial insemination was used and both parents chose to have the baby. This is due to the fact that in the past, the non-biological parent was not allowed to go on the birth certificate. Eight same-sex couples fought all the way to a federal court to have the laws changed and now both of the individuals in the same-sex relationship can get their names placed onto the certificate like heterosexual couples.
