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... nts, there are emotional issues. One parent someone that the child has know for maybe 10 years suddenly has no rights and the child will never see them again. These are big issues. (Davis p. 2) The number of U. S. children with at least one gay parent is estimated between one million and nine million, with most such children conceived in a previous heterosexual relationship.
But an increasing number of same-sex parents conceive through donated sperm or with surrogate mothers. (Reuter p. 1 - 2) A majority of people in the U. S. thinks that the only acceptable home for a child is one with a mother and a father who are married to each other; yet, children without homes do not have the option of choosing between a married mother and father or some other type of parent (s). These children have neither a mother nor a father. There are simply not enough married heterosexual parents who are interested in adoption and foster care.
Our foster care and adoption policies must deal with reality, or these children will never have stable and loving homes. A majority of people in the U. S. also thinks that a child needs a mother and a father to have proper male and female role models.
Children without homes have neither a mother nor a father; therefore, they do not have either gender as a role model. And children get their role models from many places, (T. V. , movies, magazines, teachers, siblings, and friends) not just from their parent (s). In a case-by-case evaluation, trained professionals can ensure that the child to be adopted or placed in foster care is moving into an environment with adequate role models of all types. Some people in the U. S.
also thinks that children raised by gay or lesbian parents are more likely to grow up homosexual themselves; yet, all the evidence from studies show that the sexual orientation of parents has no impact on the sexual orientation of their children and that children of gay and lesbian parents are no more likely than any other child to grow up to be gay. Children of homosexual parents may tend to be more open-minded or might experiment with being gay or lesbian; but in the long run children of homosexual and heterosexual parents have the same chance in becoming either homosexual or heterosexual. (1) A majority of people in the U. S. also thinks that gay and lesbian couples do not have stable relationships and do not know how to be good parents. When in fact, like other adults in this world, the majority of lesbian and gay couples are in stable committed relationships. (Opinions p. 1) Of course some of these relationships have problems, just like heterosexual relationships do. Yet, the adoption and foster care screening process is very rigorous, including extensive home visits and interviews.
It is designed to screen out those individuals who are not qualified to adopt or be foster parents. All the evidence shows that homosexuals can and do make good parents just like heterosexuals. (1) Another myth people think is true is that children who are raised by lesbian or gay parents will be subjected to harassment and will be rejected by their peers. Children make fun of other children for a variety of reasons: for being too short, too fat, too thin, too tall, being a different race, having a different religion, or speaking a different language. Children show remarkable resiliency, especially if they are provided with a stable and loving home environment. But children left in foster care often face even more abuse for being parent less than those with a single parent or same-sexed parents. These children often internalize that abuse and often feel unwanted / abandoned .
Unfortunately they do not have any support of a loving permanent family to help them through these rough times, whether it is homosexual parents, heterosexual parents, or a single parent / guardian . (1) Another myth that people believe is that lesbian and gay parents are more likely to molest their children or children in general. There is no connection between homosexuality and pedophilia; all of the legitimate scientific evidence proves that. Sexual orientation, whether heterosexual or homosexual, is an adult sexual attraction to others. Pedophilia, on the other hand, is an adult sexual attraction to children. Heterosexual men commit Ninety percent of child abuse.
In one study of 269 cases child sexual abuse, only two offenders were gay or lesbian. Of the cases studied involving molestation of a boy by a man, 74 percent of the men were or had been in a heterosexual relationship with the boys mother or another female relative. The study concluded that a childs risk of being molested by his or her relatives heterosexual partner is over 100 times greater than by someone who might be identifiable as being homosexual, lesbian or bisexual. (1) Another myth some believe is that children raised by lesbian and gays will be brought up in an immoral environment. There are all kinds of disagreements in this country about what is moral and what is immoral. Some people may think raising children without religion is immoral, yet atheists are allowed to adopt and be foster parents. Some people think drinking and gambling are immoral, but these things do not disqualify someone from being evaluated as an adoptive or foster parent.
If we eliminated all of the people who could possibly be considered immoral, we would have almost no parents left to adopt and provide foster care. That cannot be the right solution. What we can probably all agree on is that it is immoral to leave children without homes when there are qualified parents waiting to raise them. That is exactly what many gays and lesbians can do; they can provide these children with loving, caring homes.
There is no true statistics nor any proven studies that show gay and lesbian couples are not suitable to be adoptive or foster parents. Yet, it is a fact and has been proven that gay and lesbian couples are good, suitable, and loving parents. The only thing we are doing by keeping gay and lesbian couples from adopting is hurting the children in need of good homes. The longer we deny these perfectly suitable parents from adopting the more children suffer. It is simply common sense; to solve the lack of foster parents or adoptive parents in the world, allow suitable people the rights that they deserve. Bibliography 1.
web 4 / 1 / 2002, The American Civil Liberties Union. 2. Petit, M & Curtis, P. , Child Abuse and Neglect: A Look at the States, 1997 CWLA Stat Book, Child Welfare League of America, Washington, D. C. , 1997, P. 72, 124. 3. Rivers, Reggie. Denver Post, Restricting Gay Parenting is Wrong. Thursday, February 07, 2002. 4.
The Los Angeles Times, Professors Take Issues With Gay Parenting Research. April 27, 2001. 5. Carole, Jenny, Are Children at Risk for Sexual Abuse by Homosexuals? , Pediatrics, Vol. 94, No. 1 (1994); 6. Davis, Jeanie, Adoption in Same-Sex Couples: Legally Recognizing the Same-Sex Parent Has Real Benefits to the Child, Parents. February 04, 2002.
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