Saturday, April 23, 2011

Same-Sex Parents: Should They Exist in the United States?

The Social Periodical asks that question:

Who would rather see a child suffer in sub-standard living conditions without the support of a loving family than see that child adopted by a financially- and emotionally-stable homosexual individual or couple? It is difficult to imagine that any person would inflict suffering upon a child in order to fulfill his or her own ideological desires, but through political action—or lack of political action—many persons are denying individuals or couples who identify as homosexuals the privilege of adoption based on their failure to conform to the supposed standard of heterosexuality; many are consigning children to sub-standard conditions while they wait to be adopted by a heterosexual family. This is neither fair to the individuals who are seeking to adopt nor to the children hoping to be adopted. Homosexual individuals who otherwise meet the legal qualifications that heterosexual individuals meet—whether they are single, in a marriage, in a civil union, or in a domestic partnership—should have the privilege of adopting children.

6 comments:

Jeff and Madeline said...

In all honesty, it is offensive that the question is asked. Of course they should.

Anonymous said...

I don't see how this is even an issue. There are far more couples looking to adopt than their are children available for adoption. Of course, if the choice is between sub-standard living conditions then of course, homosexual couples and individuals should be allowed to adopt.

Anonymous said...

I cannot see any reason why they should not be parents...

I do wish they could come up with a better solution/do away with amending/sealing the birth certificate - this just highlights the issue because it is not physically possible, but I also feel this way for ALL adoptions. No need to amend or seal any birth certificate - adoption decrees should be more than adequate and do a legal name change document to tie them together or make it one document.

Hopefully that made sense...

Lora said...

I don't have a problem with them adopting. I do have a problem with the birth certificate listing 2 women or 2 men as the "parents."

What a freak of nature that child could end up feeling like, as if it wasn't hard enough.

Reena said...

Ditto with TheAdoptedOnes comments.

Anonymous said...

My partner and I are fabulous parents. period. It's not ok for us to be parents only because otherwise our (adopted) daughter would be in a worse situation. It's ok for us to be parents because we are able to raise a great kid with love, stability, and values.

And I'm sorry if it makes people uncomfortable, but there are thousands and thousands of same-sex couples raising kids, and that's not going to change.

And just as another aside... the term "homosexual" is generally not the preferred term by actual gay people since about 1972.