The Impact of Same-Sex Couples on Adoption
The has been a significant rise in the number of same-sex couples forming their own families by artificial insemination, adoption, and foster care. It has been approximated that there are at least fourteen million minors in the U.S that are living with at least one parent who is gay. The fight to establish adoption rights for same-sex couples is threatening the best interest of children and the adoption system. Children have a right to grow experiencing the love that only a mother and father can provide and placing them with same-sex couples will mean that they will lack either a motherly or fatherly love. In a bid to uphold tolerance and equality, the current anti-discrimination policies and judicial decisions are undermining the best interest of children. This paper will provide reasons as to why the adoption of children by same-sex couples should not be accepted.
The Importance of Both Mother and Father Figures
All children have the right to both a mother and a father, and if they are placed under the structure of a family with same-sex parents, this important right for a child is deliberately and methodically violated (Stanton & Maier, 2013). The development of a child will be harmed when they grow up presuming that their parents are either two women or two men, as they will not be correctly aware of its origin in both the sexes. Diversity has always been a significant stimulus to growth more than equality. According to research, it is evident that mothers and fathers have a distinct and indispensable influence on the healthy development of a child (Stanton & Maier, 2013). A child becomes disadvantaged when it grows in a homosexual family. Finally, when a full adoption takes place, the birth certificate of a child will show the names of two women or two men instead of the usual one male and one female. The child might end up feeling deceived by the conflicting knowledge that they have of their sexual origin of the two genders that is male and female and what is recorded in their birth certificate.
Promoting Equality Through Same-Sex Adoption
Same-sex couples also should be given the right to have a family to promote equality. Most children who are raised in same-sex households are known to be more open-minded in regards to different relationships and lifestyles more than those children who have been raised in the traditional setting of a family (Brodzinsky & Pertman, 2012). Secondly, a loving adoptive family of either same-sex couples or straight couple is much better than the foster care system because the shortage of adoptive parents is very high. Many children lack permanent homes while others have been forced into an endless series of foster homes that are substandard. In the United States alone, there are close to 500,000 children under foster care and over 100,000 who are yet to be adopted (Brodzinsky & Pertman, 2012). Considering these figures, it is best to put the best interest of children at heart by placing them with same-sex couples who are both loving and ready to care for them.
Conclusion
There have been constant changes in social norms over the last few decades with things that were once unacceptable being accepted. Adoption of children by same-sex couples was once unacceptable but today has started to be recognized. It is crucial that the best interest of the children is always considered, such as the right to receive both fatherly and motherly love, even as activists fight for the rights of same-sex couples. The fundamental needs of children for a healthy development should not be undermined. Children need homes that they will feel comfortable and not one that they might end up feeling deceived and confused.
References
Brodzinsky, D., & Pertman, A. (2012). Adoption by lesbians and gay men: A new dimension in family diversity. New York: Oxford University Press.
Stanton, G. T., & Maier, B. (2013). Marriage on trial: The case against same-sex marriage and parenting. Sydney, Australia: RHYW.
