In most states the racial preferences of adopting parents can be taken into consideration and honored. However, many state laws specifically prohibit an adoptive agency from denying or delaying an adoption based on the race of the adoptive parents or the adoptee. For example, Arizona law provides: “Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the division, an agency, or the court shall not deny or delay a placement or an adoption certification based on the race, the color or the national origin of the adoptive parent or the child.”