Adoption Rights for Gays and Lesbians
Adoption Rights for Gays and Lesbians Just a few years ago, most children grew up in a "traditional" or "nuclear" family, which refers to the conjugal household consisting of a husband, a wife, and their dependent children, whose relationships are traditionally recognized by the American family law. Yet, in today's society, fewer and fewer American households are daresay "traditional" families. The constant societal changes have brought about the rise of "alternative" or "nontraditional" families, many of which include group living, unmarried cohabitation and single-parent families---all of which are mutually interdependent households, but not recognized as so by the American family law. As part of these "alternative" or "nontraditional" families, in the past decade we have begun to see a sharp rise in the number of lesbian and gay men forming their own families through adoption, foster care, artificial insemination and other means. So why are lesbians and gays still being repressed? Why are they being denied the right to adopt? Why is it that there are still countless states across the United States who however hold very stringent laws regarding lesbians, gays and adoption? Living in a society like the one we live in to
Factors such as the fitness and health of the parents, their finances, social position, ability to share custody, along with the age and sex of child, voiced preferences of the child, religion, race and the overall mental health of all concerned (Roleff 38). With such low numbers who would even consider adoption, it is no surprise why other statistics show that in any given year only 20 percent of those foster children in need of adoption will actually be adopted (Kantrowitz 26). Instead, state agencies and courts now apply a "best interest of the child" standard to decide each individual case as it is reviewed. Another myth used as a tool to prevent lesbians and gay men from adoption, is the foregoing conclusion that children need a mother and a father in order to acquire proper male and female role models (Curran 48). In contrast, the children of lesbians and gay parents grow up as happy, healthy and well adjusted as the children of heterosexual parents. Every day children, both boys and girls want to be like their superheroes. Not only must society recognize that such community exists, but they must be given recognition legally so that their interest, values and rights are viewed in an identical form as those of heterosexual couples. In fact, not a single study has found that the children of lesbian or gay parents result at a disadvantaged level because of their parents' sexual orientation (Drucker 34). Yet, if the dice were rolled and the child grew up to express a preference in liking towards a homosexual lifestyle versus that of a heterosexual, then full support and acceptance would oversee all of the ignorance and intolerance dealt out by society. Many believe that a child's peers would subject a child raised in a gay home to constant harassment and guaranteed rejection. For the reason that different people view different things as being "immoral", it is unfair to say it is an "immoral" environment, because what one views as right, another may view as wrong-so who is to judge what is morally right to what is morally wrong? If we eliminate all the people who could possibly be considered "immoral", we would have almost no parents left to adopt and provide foster care, and that cant possibly be the right solution, because the only that would remain a victim would be the child. The question remains can mainstream society distinguish myth versus fact? Amongst the present myths is that the only acceptable home for a child is one with a mother and a father who are married to each other, but gay parenting coincides with a much broader reconfiguration of households and kinship. Of all reported cases of children molested in the United States, ninety-nine percent of child abuse is done by heterosexual men, therefore it is unjust to stereotype and conclude that all homosexuals are pedophiles (Williams 185). In sum, it is cause for optimism that courts, legislatures and scholars are struggling to devise new doctrines in attempts to address the needs of children in families that does not fit the one-mother/one-father model. There is no evidence that suggest that the children of lesbians and gay parents are less intelligent, suffer from more problems, are less popular, or have lower self-esteem than children of heterosexual parents.
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Acceptance Essays
