Following their marriage last year in Utah, Beckie Peirce and April Hoagland took in a foster child. After the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage, Utah child services licensed the couple for a duration of one year. In August, Pierce and Hoagland took in a 1-year-old, joining the couple’s two biological children. The mother of the foster child made arrangements with Peirce and Hoagland, arranging an adoption.

The Washington Post reports that a Utah judge ordered the child to be removed from the home Wednesday, saying she would be better off with heterosexual parents. A copy of the court order issued by Judge Scott Johansen is not currently available. According to Hoagland, the Judge Johansen said, “through his research he had found that kids in homosexual homes don’t do as well as they do in heterosexual homes.” When asked to show his research, the judge refused.

Pierce believes the decision was based on religious beliefs. The faith of the judge is not currently known, however the area has a high Mormon population. Just last week, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, known colloquially as the Mormon church made a change to its handbook stating that children of same-sex couples will not be baptized or blessed by the church until they turn 18. LGBT Mormons and activists are protesting the decision.

Utah Child Services are not able to ignore the issued order, however, the order itself may not be legal. Brent Platt, director of Utah’s Division of Child and Family Services said, “…I’m not going to expect my caseworkers to violate the law.”

Advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign condemned the decision to have the child removed from the home. The child is expected to be removed from Hoagland and Peirce’s home in seven days.