1851, Massachusetts passed the first adoption law, yet it’s only recently that same sex adoption has become more common (The Adoption HIstory) . Over the past few years the LGBT community has been trying to fight the discrimination against being able to adopt. They struggle twice as hard to get legal custody rights then it would for heterosexual couples.
According to Lifelong Adoption around 135,000 kids are adopted each year in America. There are 594,000 same sex couples in the US, but only 100,000 have children. Among the same sex couples around 49% of them are wanting to adopt and are even willing to take on the “ less desireable” children, ones with physical and mental disabilities. About 40% of agencies have reported making at least one
In conclusion, the augment for gay adoption is far stronger and far better supported than those opposed. One must admit that sexual orientation is fundamentally irrelevant to a person’s capacity to be a good parent. The opposition to gay and lesbian adoption has failed to support its
This article talks about the support of second parent adoption for gays everywhere. They support the idea that children with two capable adults no matter what gender are able and should be able to care for a child. Although they support this, the article does not show any sort of negativity toward the opposite side relating the issue. The site details the rights that the second parent should be guaranteed through an adoption. They also think that pediatricians and other professions dealing with children should get more familiar with learning about gays and the children they adopt. The authors are the Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health. The people in the committee have many different backgrounds and are advocates for children’s
Unfortunately, there is a number of legal hurdles gay and lesbian couples face when trying to adopt therefore, the system has to be circumvented. Also same sex couples encounter individuals who subconsciously and consciously discriminate through a variety of behaviors including evident harassment or social exclusion (Brown, Smalling, Groza, & Ryan, 2009). It would seem as if the drive to prevent same sex couples from the benefit of joint adoption starts with the discrimination of these couples rather than the welfare of the child (Johnson, n.d). In fact, these discriminations include accusations of psychological disorders and a higher occurrence of domestic violence.
Attention getter: Discrimination against gay men and lesbian women has been socially recognized for hundreds of years and still continues today. Homosexuals have adopted children for many years, regardless of fear and prejudice. The controversy of this matter is why homosexuals are not presented the equal fairness of the process and open opportunity as heterosexual couples who seek to adopt or foster children. There is a certain extent to which the sexual orientation of couples (or single potential parents) seeking to adopt children impede on the opportunity to provide children with a permanent and stable home.
The unjust and prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex is discriminating; according to the Oxford dictionary. This term does not empower them, but instead make people feel powerless. Same-sex couples in particular, who are looking to adopt, feel unequal to their heterosexual associates. In relation to adoption, there shouldn’t be preference to heterosexual couples over same-sex couples. Adoption typically is not an easy process, but when it comes to people of the same sex trying to adopt, what seems to be as simple as to buying a puppy, is very intimidating and discouraging. The laws that govern these decisions do not help at all. The inconsistency amongst all of the states in America makes the process even more challenging, to the point where couples give up. Same-sex couples who are fortunate enough to be allowed by the courts to adopt, are still being judgmental. The judgments are based on their parenting abilities and the effects their lifestyle they live, whether it will have a negative backlash on the children. The intention of my analysis on same-sex adoption is to examine some of the bifurcation and the challenges that these individuals encounter while trying to legally adopt a child.
More gay and lesbian people are having kids than before. According to Sunday Morning on NBC, 125,000 gay or lesbian couples had adopted a child in 2010. This may seem like a small percentage of the population, however this is the first time that those numbers had ever been tallied. LGBT people cannot reproduce as easily as a heterosexual couple. This allows the LGBT couple to plan out and think ahead for the future. Currently there are an estimated 14,100 foster children in gay and lesbian homes awaiting adoption. Also interesting statistics in this field, over half of gay men, and 41% of lesbian women want to have children. There is also an estimated 2 million gay or lesbian people in the United States that are interested in adoption. Lastly there are approximately 4% of the children in the U.S. that are currently being raised in a LGBT home (The Williams Institute
Since the 1990’s approximately 8-10 million children in the US alone are raised in a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender (LGBT) household. Same-Sex Adoption is controversial because many people throughout the world are against LGBT adoption; but when faced with the number of kids who pray everyday for someone out there wanting to be the parent of a foster child, it is difficult to understand why the topic of gay adoption is controversial. Yes, there can be a bad outcome but there can also be a very good outcome of these kinds of adoptions. The LGBT Adoption situation can be fixed by allowing any adult or parent to adopt a child if they have the right living environment or the knowledge and skills that it takes to raise a kid in the proper way. But social workers have reservations on considering gay adoptive parents because they are fearful of how the parents will treat and raise the children and how they will grow up feeling. People who oppose same sex marriage, including U.S. elected officials, have argued that a child raised by a LGBT parent will need additional emotional support or will face social challenges compared to children with heterosexual parents (Borreli). Although many people believe that LGBT parents shouldn’t be allowed to adopt because it affects the child, LGBT parents should be allowed to adopt because many kids need a place to call home or someone they can call family, they need someone in a similar situation that they can talk
“Last year, 29,471 children turned 18 and left the foster care system without an adoptive family” (“Adoption” 1). Unfortunately for those young adults, knowing the comfort of a stable family was not part of their childhood. Though there is a high demand for children to be adopted, the reality is many are not being adopted. Furthermore, even though there are children that need a good home, state governments are purposely making laws that prohibit certain groups of people from adopting children. States like Florida and Mississippi are both culprits. Two groups that are especially being targeted by unfair laws are gays and lesbians. These unfair laws are clear discrimination, and they should be put to an end
Gay adoption is a subject which is widely debated. However over recent years gay adoption has allowed for most gay couples who want to adopt young children and give them a good quality of life, which they would have if they lived with their biological parents or a heterosexual couple, to do so.
More and more LGBT couples want to adopt. By allowing LGBT couples to adopt, you are taking more children out of foster care and placing them in loving homes. LGBT parents typically adopt the children with the greatest needs. Twenty-one of the fifty states currently allow for second-parent adoption. A majority of states no longer deny custody or visitation rights based on sexual orientation. There is no evidence that LGBTs are unfit parents (Lyons 25-26).
We have all heard the mantra that a child needs to be raised by both and a mother and afather. The qualities contributed by a man and a woman are each vital to raising a well roundedindividual and therefore the idea of having two mothers or two fathers is simplyunacceptable«right? Well what about no parents? No mother? No father? That child is bound to be
There are currently 107,011 kids in the U.S. foster care system that are hoping and waiting to be adopted, so just imagine how many of those children could be adopted if more lesbian and gay couples were able to adopt. According to lifelong adoption agencies more and more gay and lesbian couples are becoming parents through artificial insemination, a surrogate, or LGBT adoption. It’s hard for same sex couples to adopt because adoption agencies that have religious beliefs against same sex couples reject them, or a state law prohibits same sex parents. Same sex couples face much opposition from a large number of people even though they do not have well supported arguments for their beliefs. Many studies have been done in an attempt to figure
Gay parents are facing discrimination because of their sexual orientation. Twenty-two states currently allow single gays to adopt and 21 states currently allow gay and lesbian couples to adopt in the U.S. (Mallon, 2007, p. 6). The ability of gay couples to rear a child should not be denied only because they are gay. Homosexuals may be looked down upon by society, but they still are humans and have morals. These morals they possess, may influence a child more than those morals taught to a child with heterosexual parents. All over the world, children suffer in families consisting of alcoholics, drug abusers, and sexual abusers (Powell, 2007, p.1). It is not possible that these environments are safer than what would be provided by homosexual
“About 19 percent of same-sex couples raising children reported having an adopted child in the house in 2009, up from just 8 percent in 2000.” As society changes there opinions on same-sex marriage they more gays and lesbians are adopting. There was recent rise in same-sex adoption but there is still people in U.S. that are against same-sex adoption. Recently a judge in Kentucky objected gay and lesbian adoption. This caused a huge uproar and had people thinking whether or not gay and lesbian adoption is okay for the children. One article feels that state legislators are putting more hurdles in the way of adoption and preventing children from getting into loving and caring homes (“Adoptions are declining,”2017). Gays and lesbians being able to adopt will provide loving homes, get kids out of foster care, and they choose to be parents.
First of all, homosexuals should be allowed to adopt. The goal of our adoption and foster care systems is to provide all children with permanent, stable homes with loving and supportive parents, but discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and marital status hinders that. State governments bear discrimination, economic costs, same-sex couples are denied the ability to build a family, and, most importantly, children in need of loving and permanent homes are left in unstable caregiving situations. Over the years' child foster care has increased by a big number. With all these restrictions on homosexuals trying to adopt children doesn't help the number go down at all. People are trying to start a family and they can't because people don't believe it's right