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A Carbon County court hearing to address the "best interests" of an infant girl under the care of lesbian foster parents has been canceled.

Court papers filed in Price's 7th District Court vacate the scheduled Dec. 4 hearing and reset a hearing on a petition to terminate the parental rights of the 9-month-old girl's biological mother for Dec. 9 before juvenile court Presiding Judge Mary Manley.

The scheduling changes follow Judge Scott Johansen's decision to recuse himself from the case amid wide criticism of his Nov. 10 order that directed state child welfare officials to move the child to a home with heterosexual parents.

In his order, Johansen said he believed it was "not in the best interest of children to be raised by same-sex couples."

The judge cited unspecified research on the well-being of children raised by same-sex couples as the basis for his opinion.

April Hoagland and Beckie Peirce, a married couple who are licensed foster parents, had cared for the girl since August. The couple want to adopt her and have the support of the Utah Division of Child and Family Services, and the office of the Guardian Ad Litem, which represents the child in court proceedings. The girl's mother has also told the courts she wants the child raised by Hoagland and Peirce.

It wasn't clear Tuesday when the new judge assigned to the case might consider the adoption request.

The case has drawn a firestorm of national attention, including from Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton, who expressed support for the women via Twitter, saying: "Being a good parent has nothing to do with sexual orientation — thousands of families prove that."

The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay and transgender rights group, also filed a formal complaint about Johansen with Utah's Judicial Conduct Commission.

The Alliance for a Better Utah has asked the Utah Legislature to begin impeachment proceedings against Johansen and launched a Web-based petition on change.org.

As of Tuesday, more than 1,500 had signed the petition.

jdobner@sltrib.com