Parenting and Adoption

Parenting and Adoption In 2002, Sweden joined the ranks of European nations permitting legal adoptions by gay parents. The measure passed in the Swedish parliament with an overwhelming majority vote: 198 to 38 ("Sweden Legalizes Gay Adoption," 2002). The Netherlands, Denmark, and Iceland also permit legal adoption by homosexual parents. On the other hand, the state of Florida instated a total ban on gay adoptions. The decision, which is heatedly contested by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), was upheld in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The resistance to gay parenting and adoption rights as is witnessed in Florida and other American states like New Hampshire is not based on a modicum of fact but rather on presumptions and biases. The Swedish decision, on the other hand, rests soundly on scientific research conducted over the course of 18 months showing that "gay couples are just as capable as their heterosexual counterparts of caring for and rearing a child," ("Sweden Legalizes," 2002).

Moreover, the ACLU notes that anywhere from 6 to 14 million children already live with one or more gay parent. Due to the lack of willingness to report sexual orientation in polls, many biological and adoptive parents are gay without the government's knowledge. "Not a single study has found the children of lesbian or gay parents to be disadvantaged because of their parents' sexual orientation," ("Gay Adoption Debate and Poll"). Warrants or assumptions underlying the debate over gay parenthood range from the overtly religious to the quasi-scientific.

Although no studies have indicated that the children of homosexual parents are disadvantaged, those opposed to gay adoption assume that the children of gay parents will be summarily worse off than their straight-family counterparts. Those who oppose adoption rights for gay couples on religious grounds rest solely on a nebulous, unscientific worldview that has no place in legislation. Homosexual couples should be afforded every right that heterosexual couples enjoy, especially adoption. According to the ACLU, at least 21 states already permit second-parent adoptions by gay parents ("Lesbian and Gay Rights" 1999).

It is time to enact general legislation that not only permits gay parents to adopt children but encourages gay parents.