Consideration of blindness during adoption proceedings
§ 643. Consideration of blindness during adoption proceedings. 1. The court may not deny or decide a petition for adoption solely on the basis that the petitioner is blind. The blindness of the petitioner shall be considered relevant only to the extent that the court finds, based on evidence in the record, that the blindness affects the best interests of the child whose adoption is the subject of the petition.
2. As used in this section, "blind" or "blindness" means:
a. vision that is 20/200 or less in the best corrected eye; or
b. vision that subtends an angle of not greater than twenty degrees in the best corrected eye.
The court may not deny an adoption solely because the petitioner is blind. ★ Blindness matters only to the extent record evidence shows it affects the child's best interests. "Blind" = vision 20/200 or less in the best corrected eye, or a visual field ≤ 20 degrees.
# Part 3 — Custody and Visitation
Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.
This provision appears in Volume 5 — The JG-22 Family Court Act and in Volume 1 — The JG-22 in Plain English.