Share:
Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2019 - 2020
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | May 8, 2019 04:25 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Michele Brooks |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Expansion of Grandparent Adoption Rights |
| In the near future, I will be introducing legislation that will aim to put grandparents, great-grandparents, and stepparents on the same legal footing in regards to adoption as other third parties. According to Pennsylvania law, all physical and legal custody rights to a child are terminated when the child is adopted, and all physical and legal custody rights are fully vested in the adoptive parents. However, the law also allows for a loophole, in which some legal or physical custody rights of another person to a child may survive the adoption process, if the adoptive parent is a grandparent, great-grandparent, or stepparent. There is already a system in place to determine whether an individual is a fit parent to adopt a child, and we must treat all individuals equally under the law. There is no reason, in today’s society, for these individuals to have less parental rights when adopting a child than any other, and this legislation will aim to remedy this issue. I hope you will join me in cosponsoring this important piece of legislation. Please do not hesitate to contact my office with any questions. |
Introduced as SB776