Pence has long condemned same-sex unions, asserting such relationships are precursors to “societal collapse.” But when he created an adoption task force in 2014, he made no mention of prospective parents’ sexual orientation.

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In fact, Indiana opened adoption to gay parents in 2006, nearly a decade before same-sex marriage became legal nationwide and seven years before Pence became governor.

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Grant Kirsh, an Indianapolis adoption attorney, said his same-sex clients don’t encounter more adoption challenges than the heterosexual ones.

“It’s a horrible misunderstanding,” he said. “They get picked so quickly.”

By that, Kirsh means, same-sex couples frequently match with pregnant women seeking stable homes for newborns.

"We've been trying to get the word out that same-sex parents here won't face more scrutiny," he said.

That concern, he said, stems in part from the publicity around recent legislative moves in Indiana affecting gay men and women. Last year, Pence signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act following controversy over a Christian-owned bakery refusing service to a gay couple. The law allows businesses to use "religious freedom" as a defense against lawsuits, and LGBT advocates insisted the measure would allow business owners to discriminate against gay patrons. Under pressure, state lawmakers amended the law to address such concerns, adding language that prohibits businesses from refusing to work with people on the basis of sexual orientation.

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Jason Flynn, a flight attendant who lives in northwest Indiana, had expected the adoption process in his conservative state to be lengthier, more emotionally draining. He also knew the birth mother could back out at any point before giving birth.

Flynn, 42, and his husband, Kenny, willed themselves not to get too attached when the conversations started, even as the couple poured more than $60,000 of savings into their parenthood dreams. They’d first tried for a baby at an agency in Portland, Ore. They passed the mandatory home inspections and background checks. A year brought nothing.

So, in 2014, they hired an adoption lawyer in Indianapolis.

“We had our son three months later,” Flynn said. Less than a year after they took him home, their lawyer called back — they’d matched with another birth mother. The couple now has two boys — one 3 months old and the other nearly two years old.

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Despite Indiana's early acceptance of adoption by gay couples, equal parental rights have arrived gradually. Until recently, the state didn't allow two mothers or two fathers to be named on birth certificates. This summer, after eight couples sued the state, a federal judge ordered Indiana to reverse that rule.

Same-sex couples now can adopt children nationwide — Mississippi was the last state to strike down its ban in June. More than 115,000 American kids live with two moms or two dads, according to 2010 Census Bureau numbers.