31 Jan LGBT Adoption Rights
Parenthood is undoubted, one of the most beautiful feelings that one can experience. Some can become parents naturally & some through other means such as adoption. With changing times, new laws have been passed on unconventional parenthood. Gay couples have recently started experiencing parenthood through adoption. Some conservatives raise questions on the viability of equal adoption rights for gay couples as odd couples. On the other hand, liberals have on many occasions voted for equal adoption rights for gay couples.
As quoted by Dr. C. Everett Koop, “Life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege, than the raising of the next generation.” Parenthood is the first and the most crucial step towards building the nation’s future. Let’s review some of the views on this all-pervasive question. The adoption laws in the United States have greatly varied in each state. In the beginning, only a handful of states granted complete adoption rights to same-sex couples. The other states either prohibited it entirely or just barely allowed the couple to legally adopt the biological offspring of the other partner. The decisive moment came on June 26, 2015, when the Supreme Court removed all restrictions and prohibitions on gay marriage in the United States, which was closely followed by the Federal District Court’s decision to lift Mississippi’s ban on gay couples from adoption on March 31, 2016.
These decisions have legalized adoption by gay couples in all 50 states. These events occurred relatively recently. However, the groundwork for such developments began decades ago. Comprehensive research was conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union on the advantages and disadvantages of raising a child in a same-sex household. A document was consequently produced by this organization on their findings. In a nutshell, it stated that there is no evidence to validate that lesbians and gay men are not fit to be parents. In addition to that, it noted that good parenting is not at all influenced by sexual preference. It was also found that children with gay parents had the same if not more chances of growing up happy, healthy & developed. According to the U.S. Census data from 2010, adoption by same-sex couples has drastically increased. Recent statistics show, 18,400 gay couples were raising one or more adopted children. Public opinion also plays a vital role in issues related to society. A poll conducted by CNN in 2007, revealed that 57% of all the respondents vote for the adoption rights of same-sex couples, while, 40% voted against it.
Some regulatory bodies have expressed concern that children raised in a same-sex household may lag psychological and personal development and their self-esteem and social and peer relationships might suffer. Many people also go as far as speculating if children raised by gay and lesbian partners are likely to become homosexual. With the growing population and an increasing number of abandoned children, finding permanent and caring homes for children is a significant challenge. According to Tor Docherty, chief executive of New Family Social, (NFS) data from the National Register, the national database of children available for adoption and approved adopters waiting for children, shows that LGBT people are more willing to consider adopting harder-to-place children.
There is no crystalline answer to the advantages and disadvantages of same-sex parenthood because it’s only now, that more people have started discussing such issues in a broader space. Increased participation in such discussions may provide a breakthrough to people who want answers.
Should gay couples have the same adoption rights as straight couples?
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