Adoption by Same Sex Couples

At present, the world and individual countries are as divided with regard to adoption as to other area of gay rights. As of 2000, four states in the USA (Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi and Utah) have specifically outlawed gay adoption, as have some Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway, and Iceland) that show an otherwise lenient attitude to samesex relationships. By contrast, the National Adoption Week in the UK in October 2000 saw a drive to encourage gay couples to adopt, in order to find homes for the thousands of children seeking parents. The 2002 Adoption and Children Act allowed unmarried couples in England and Wales, including same sex partners to apply for adoption jointly.

Pros
Society is changing, and the traditional idea of the nuclear family with married mother and father is no longer the only acceptable alternative. The reason that many countries are beginning to award legal rights to gay couples is because the stability of such relationships is now recognized. There is no reason, therefore, why such couples cannot provide a stable and loving upbringing for children. Nature has shown in many species that, when one or both parents die, an uncle or aunt frequently takes on the child-rearing role. Some babies are born with a predisposition to homosexuality (both human and in other races), and their upbringing will not be affect their sexuality. Attempting to suppress this genetic predisposition has resulted in great misery for many people. Rather, we should accept this and look to embrace all gay people fully which must include celebrating gay role models, especially as responsible parents.

Cons
The traditional nuclear family is still an ideal that should be clung to. Where its breakdown is inevitable, a close substitute, with maternal and paternal influences, is the only alternative. Evolution and nature has shown that the natural development of the young is aided by both these influences. Research in the US (Univ. of Illinois Law Review, 1997) finds that children raised in homosexual households are significantly more likely to be gay themselves. While exceptions occur, the norm in nature is that offspring are nurtured by mother and father. To legally allow adoption by gay couples is to encourage what is an unnatural upbringing. A childs primary role models are his or her parents. Bringing a heterosexual child up in a gay household gives them a distorted view of a minority sexuality, just as a girl brought up by two men would fail to benefit from a feminine influence. Although much research has examined the possible genetic, hormonal, developmental, social, and cultural influences on sexual orientation, no findings have emerged that permit scientists to conclude that sexual orientation is determined by any particular factor or factors. Many think that nature and nurture both play complex roles." While the law should not penalise gay relationships, it also exists to encourage the nuclear family as the ideal for child-raising. Just as married couples receive tax benefits and unmarried mothers may suffer cuts in welfare, legal prohibition of adoption by gays is a natural step towards this ideal. Homophobic language and behaviour is still common in society. Placing a child too young to have an opinion of their own in the care of a gay couple exposes them to this prejudice, and subjects them to ridicule or violence. Whatever ideal we might have, the psychological and physical welfare of the child must come first.

In many cases, children are currently being responsibly reared by gay couples, where one of the partners is a biological parent. Allowing adoption by the other merely confers legal rights on an already successful, if informal, family model. The homophobia in some sections of society is wrong, and must be fought however possible. Couples from ethnic minorities are not barred from adoption even in racist areas. Only through the full inclusion of gays in society and all its institutions can we hope to overcome prejudice.

Arkansas Proposed Initiative Act No. 1 (2008) is an Initiated state statute that was approved on November 4, 2008 election in Arkansas. This measure makes it illegal for any individuals cohabiting outside of a valid marriage to adopt or provide foster care to minors. While the measure was proposed primarily to prohibit same-sex couples from being adoptive or foster parents, this measure also applies to all otherwise qualified couples who are not legally married. greater prevalence of depression, drug use, promiscuity and suicide among homosexuals (and alleged greater [3] prevalence of domestic violence) might affect children or that the absence of male and female role models could cause maladjustment.