Dukakis 'conflicted' about Catholic Charities

Governor Michael Dukakis ignited a firestorm of controversy back in 1985 when he ordered the removal of two foster children from the Roxbury home of Donald Babets and David Jean hours after a Boston Globe story in which the couple’s neighbor complained that an openly gay couple were serving as state-approved foster parents. Two weeks later, the governor implemented a policy requiring that the state ask the sexual orientation of foster parent applicants and to try to place children with “traditional” families, which effectively ensured that gay people would not be approved as foster parents. The controversy sparked a series of legislative attempts to ban foster parenting and adoption by same-sex couples that spanned years; ultimately they failed. And oddly enough, in 1989, Dukakis signed a state law banning discrimination against gay people in the areas of housing, employment, public accommodation and credit. In 1990, Babets and Jean reached an out-of-court settlement on a discrimination lawsuit they had filed against Dukakis, his Secretary of Human Services Phil Johnston (who now chairs the state Democratic Party) and social services commissioner Marie Matava.

Needless to say, Dukakis says he’s “conflicted” about the recent controversy over Catholic Charities’s decision to cease providing adoption services rather than comply with the state’s anti-discrimination law. “We had this same issue as you know, when I was governor and my own view at the time — and it hasn’t changed very much — is that all things being equal I prefer seeing foster kids adopted by a family with a father, a mother and other siblings and with parenting experience. But all things are not equal,” said Dukakis, who is a visiting professor of public policy at UCLA. “If you have a situation where you have a foster kid that needs to be placed and you have a same-sex couple or a single parent who’s willing and capable to provide that child with support and the kinds of things we expect of good foster parents then you do so.

“Now whether or not you then make a decision that if one of your contractors doesn’t want to do that you basically take the contract away from them,” he added, “is another question.” Dukakis notes that abortion is constitutionally protected, yet Catholic hospitals that do not perform abortions on religious principle does not prevent them from being reimbursed for Medicaid eligible services. “We make that distinction,” he observed. “So I’m a little conflicted on this latest thing. I just don’t know who we’re serving here,” added Dukakis, who praised the work of Catholic Charities in finding good homes for children.

As for Gov. Mitt Romney’s legislation to give Catholic Charities an exemption on religious grounds that would allow them to refuse to work with same-sex couples, Dukakis suggests that it’s unnecessary and that the state’s anti-discrimination statutes do not preclude an exemption for the Catholic organization. “People keep going back to the gay rights bill that I signed, and signed enthusiastically,” he said. “But there’s nothing in there to the best of my knowledge that mandates anything here,” he said. “If it’s a regulation, governors can change regulations if they want to, that’s up to him.” (It seems, however, the one runs the risk of a lawsuit by going that route, as did Dukakis did for his foster care policy in 1985) Furthermore, the former governor is confident that other nonprofit agencies can handle adoptions by same-sex couples.

All that said, Dukakis is against the flurry of legislative attempts across the country to prevent gay people from adopting children. “I think it’s a mistake. … There are cases where same-sex couples can be good parents, we’ve seen that,” said Dukakis, though he restates his preference that children be placed in families headed by heterosexual parents. “But I don’t think you prohibit adoption by same-sex couples.” He also suggests that issue of same-sex parenting will not be the winning political issue right-wingers hope it will be. “I think the country’s evolving,” said Dukakis. “It may not look like it from time to time. But I think there’es much more acceptance these days that people are people and that’s true whether it’s their sexual orientation or anything else.” Polling indicates that young people are much more accepting on gay issues, he also observes. “I think that tells you something. I think we’re headed in the right direction. I think it’s going to take a while.”

From Dukakis ‘conflicted’ about Catholic Charities @ Bay Windows