Final Draft Gay Adoption

Carraway 1 Nathalie Carraway Ms. Gardner English 10, Period 1 3 May 2014

Gay Adoption: Equal Rights For All In the United States alone, there are over 400,540 children without permanent families or homes. This has continued to be a substantial issue; however, many people are turning to adoption whether the reason for their choice be circumstantial or due to infertility. Unfortunately, many children are unable to be adopted into a home when there is continuing discrimination against gay adoption. Gay adoption is the adoption of children by homosexual guardians. The issue of gay adoption is necessary to the continuity of equal rights among humankind. Gay adoption has, and still is, being challenged by those who feel that the guardian‟s sexual preference would have a negative impact on the adopted children. This prejudice has shown itself in the bills of religious adoption agencies that give private agencies the option to refuse applicants based on their religious and social beliefs. Discrimination of adoptive parents based on their sexual preference should not be allowed: there is no basis on which one can determine that all homosexuals have qualities that deem them unfit to be a parent, there are no substantial and credible sources which determine that this factor affects a child‟s mental or physical health for the worse, and there is a devastating number of children in adoption agencies are in need of all adoptive parents, no matter their background. Many would argue that adoption agencies should be able to decide on their candidates using the factor of sexual orientation because of the religious beliefs of the agencies. It is true

Carraway 2 that private agencies are able to exercise their own refusal of applicants under protection of private discrimination. (US Const. amend. I). In places such as Illinois there have been attempts to pass these types of bills. In an article in the Huffington Post, an online news database, Jen Sabella new legislation. As Illinois Democratic Senator David Koehler states in the article, the law would allow rejection of homosexual parents “„if acceptance of that application would constitute a violation of the organization's sincerely held religious beliefs.‟” (Sabella). To summarize, many believe that those who run adoption agencies are entitled to free judgement based on their religious ideals. Yes, private discrimination is legal according to the First Amendment. However, this filter does not consider the prospective guardians‟ eligibility, the absence of negative effects on a child, and the dire need for adoptive parents. Private discrimination can rule out some traits that are not accepted by certain religions, such as homosexuality. But in many cases, this process does not account for the many characteristics that make or do not make an eligible and fitting parent, an example being their compassion or their trustworthiness. In this regard, sexual orientation becoming the sole determining factor is creates a gaping flaw in the ability to find the most suitable parents. In a specific case of two young boys, a gay man wished of the adoption of the two. According to the Palm Beach Post, a daily newspaper in South Florida, “Only Mr. Gill petitioned to adopt them. The boys wanted him to be their dad. He was qualified in every way that mattered. But there was that sexual orientation.” (“Ban Political Exploitation of Children”). Despite his love and care for the two boys, his sexual orientation caused an agency to deem him inappropriate to gain custody of the children. To determine one‟s eligibility based on just sexual orientation ultimately eliminates many desirable guardians while also can create a lesser focus on and a higher possibility of passing an unfit parents such as one with history of criminal activity and substance

Carraway 3 abuse when one focuses on an insignificant characteristic. If the basis of private discrimination rests solely on an involuntary factor, how could prospective adoptive parents possibly be chosen for the best interest of a child? At this point in time, research has not given substantial proof that any negative effects result from the influence of homosexual parents rather than heterosexual parents. While studies have been conducted in regard to the mental and physical effects of being raised in an environment with a homosexual parent, the vast majority of the results are unreliable and inaccurate. A study by Paul and Kirk Cameron, authors of Psychological Reports, a book which studies the alleged negative effects of homosexual parenting, yielded that “Children in 48 of the 52 families (92 percent) mentioned one or more „problems.‟” This survey was done on such a low scale and from a nonspecific pool of families which allows room for skepticism on the accuracy of these results. Several researchers have also determined from their studies over the past two decades that “empirical evidence gathered by several researchers... no difference from heterosexual fathers in providing appropriate recreation, encouraging autonomy, maintaining disciplinary guidelines or dealing with general problems of parenting.” (Cameron). Despite many common beliefs that there is a higher chance that the child will be homosexual, there is no credible evidence which concludes that any traits of a child result from an upbringing with a homosexual parent. If this claim was indeed proven, what would be wrong with being homosexual? “Pardon My Planet,” a popular comic strip by Vic Lee, parodies the common misconceptions of the effects of gay or lesbian parenting such as in the comic seen below. Sexual orientation should not be seen as a detrimental trait in an adoptive parent, but a neutral one.

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The amount of children in need of a permanent home is incomprehensibly large and continues to grow every day. According to The United Nations Children‟s Fund, an organization that provides humanitarian assistance to mothers and children, there are an estimated 153 million orphans around the world in need of a home. (Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute). Many gays and lesbians would be thrilled with the opportunity to give one of these children a safe, loving, and supportive home. A professor in parenting and child development, Marinus H van IJzendoorn claims that children raised in orphanages score an average of 20 points lower on their IQ than those in foster care or a permanent home (CCAI). In addition, 40% of children wait at least 3 years to be adopted from foster care (CCAI). These alarming statistics illustrate the incredible amount of children in need of a home as well as the negative effects of being raised in an institution such as an orphanage or adoption agency rather than a home. These children desperately need loving families, many that can be provided by gay and lesbian parents.

Discrimination against gay adoption should be eradicated because of it bases itself upon flawed foundation of judgement, it carries no credible support, and the need for adoptive parents

Carraway 5 creates a need for as many adoptive parents as possible--including gay and lesbians. Discrimination against gay adoption undermines equal rights and creates judgement which has no place in the evolving world. To think without judgement calls one to think about the best interest of the child rather than the best interest of the agency‟s own morals.

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Works Cited

"Ban Political Exploitation of Children." Palm Beach Post. 31 Mar. 2013: A.19. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 03 May. 2014. Cameron, Paul, and Ellen C. Perrin. "Q: Does Adoption by Gay or Lesbian Couples Put American Children..." Insight on the News. 22 Apr. 2002: 40-43. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 03 May. 2014. "Facts and Statistics." Congressional Coalition on Adoption Insititute. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May 1998. Lee, Vic. "Pardon My Planet." Weekly Story Book. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May 2014. Sabella, Jen. "Anti-Gay Adoption Bill Shot Down In Illinois Senate Committee." n.d.: n. pag. The Huffington Post. Web. 03 May 2014.