Gay adoption
court appeal
BBC / Christian Concern
Former magistrate Richard Page, who was
sacked after stating his religious view in
an adoption case, has taken his case to the
Court of Appeal.
As a magistrate,
in 2014, he had been
considering a gay couple’s application
for
adoption. One of the applicants had been
previously rejected as an adoptive parent,
and Richard Page thought the couple were
adoption shopping in England with a view
to taking the child overseas. He told his two
fellow magistrates, whilst deliberating behind
closed doors, that he thought the child up for
adoption would do better with a heterosexual
couple. He was reprimanded and ordered to
undergo equality training. He repeated his
Christian belief in a TV interview, and he was
then dismissed in 2016 as a magistrate, and
suspended as an NHS Trust non-executive
director. In a legal first, Richard Page sued
the Lord Chancellor and the NHS Trust for
discrimination and lost.
Adoption: think carefully
Ali Kinnaird
Date posted: 1 Mar 2018
Dear en,
The article ‘God’s heart for adoption’ by
Dave Stone (February en) was both useful
and encouraging. It contained good practical
advice rooted in biblical truth and there should
be more
in our churches
like Dave Stone
and his wife who have taken the courageous
decision to adopt. However, it is not the only
way churches can be usefully involved with
supporting vulnerable children.
