Catholic Child-Adoption Society wins Discrimination High Court Battle

Catholic Care, a Leeds-based adoption agency, has won a high court appeal allowing it to ignore sexual orientation regulations and so exclude same-sex partners who wish to adopt.

The judgement is quite narrow and will require further argument (at the Charity Commission) before ‘Catholic Care’ will have their way & are permitted to discriminate against gay couples in adoption placements. Nonetheless it has been deplored by gay rights campaign groups & the trade union movement, Brendan Barber, TUC General Secretary, saying:

‘The TUC deplores this ruling. The judge has given the go-ahead for religious organisations to ignore the law of the land.

‘A few years ago when the sexual orientation regulations were being introduced, the TUC worked closely with ministers to ensure there could be no legal loopholes through which religious organisations could jump. Now it seems this ruling has just created one.’

Filed under: Discrimination, General News by Employment Law Clinic           Post created on: March 18th, 2010