Puerto Rico Supreme Court Upholds Gay Adoption Ban

Puerto Rico's Supreme Court has narrowly voted to uphold a law banning gay couples from adopting children. Today's 5-4 vote comes in the case of an unidentified woman who sought to adopt a child that her partner had through in-vitro fertilization. A majority of judges upheld the constitutionality of a law specifying that a family includes a mother and father because that is best for a child's dignity and well-being.

Chief Justice Federico Hernandez Denton dissented, saying that the plaintiff's attorneys proved the adoption would benefit the child. The decision comes as Puerto Rican legislators prepare to debate several bills that would extend more rights to gays and lesbians. (More gay marriage stories.)