Homosexual couples act as loving foster parents for many troubled children throughout the U.S. As homosexuals developed into a political force for civil rights and mainstream acceptance, same-sex couples began pursuing adoption as a way to help needy children and to build their own families. Although some states specifically prohibit discrimination against homosexuals in adoption cases, others actively ban gay adoption, or otherwise create a climate of hostility to gays trying to adopt children.
Adoption History
Before 1853, children in the U.S. were often at the mercy of the streets if they lost their parents or caregivers. In 1853, the Rev. Charles Brace founded Children's Aid Society of New York out of concern for the many abandoned and exploited children living on the streets, says Adopting.org. Brace's organization sent orphans around the country in trains to be displayed for potential adoption. Until the 1950s, adoption was primarily used to place unwanted orphans and babies with married couples, such as couples unable to have children, notes Adoption.com. However, the explosion of the number of children in the foster care system and changes in social norms changed the nature of adoption in the U.S., says Adoption.com.
Gay Adoption
Florida is the only state with an outright ban on homosexual adoption, although Utah has also effectively banned gay adoptions by allowing only married couples to adopt.
Although the Florida ban on gay adoptions was overturned in 2008 by U.S. Circuit Judge Cindy S. Lederman, notes "Time" magazine's Nov. 26, 2008 article titled, "The Fight Over Gay Adoption Heats Up," conservatives have been fighting ever since to reinstate the ban. The court decision to overturn the ban on gay adoptions has been appealed by Florida's Attorney General Bill McCollum, landing the matter back in appeals. However, a scandal over one of the ban's most public supporters, George A. Rekers, as detailed in the May 18, 2010 New York Times article, "Scandal Stirs Legal Questions in Anti-Gay Cases," may derail the opposition. Rekers, an expert witness in the Florida appeals cases attempting to prevent homosexuals from adopting, was not only caught taking a male escort on a trip to London, but was also paid $120,000 in Florida taxpayer's money for his expert testimony against homosexual adoptions, says The New York Times.
Controversy
Conservative groups continue to push for a nationwide ban on homosexual adoptions. This push is supposedly based on the belief that homosexuals lead a lifestyle that could be damaging to children.However, in a 2001 study published in the American Sociological Review, children raised by homosexual parents were found to be just as emotionally secure and happily well adjusted as children raised in heterosexual families. In addition, the study found that these children seemed to exhibit higher levels of empathy and affection for younger children. No scientific studies have ever found homosexual caregivers to be less suitable than heterosexuals as parents.
Foster Care
Another significant factor in the debate over gay adoption centers on the state of the foster care system in the U.S. According to the April 6, 2005 USA Today article titled, "Hardship Follows Children after Foster Care," a study showed that children who aged out of the foster care system had even higher levels of post traumatic stress disorder than war veterans. In addition, 1 in 5 former foster kids were homeless, and a much higher percentage of these children were unemployed or even incarcerated than their peers.
Support for Gay Adoption
Even Florida does not prevent homosexuals from acting as foster parents. Gay foster parents often care for the children at highest risk, and hope to be able to permanently adopt the children they already care for, notes Adoption.com. Supporters of gay adoption point out that the overwhelmed foster care system means that many children in the system have no hope of adoption if gay couples are banned from the practice.
References
- The New York Times: Scandal Stirs Legal Questions in Anti-Gay Cases; John Schwartz; 2010
- Adoption: Gay Adoption
- USA Today: Hardship Follows Children after Foster Care; Mary Elias; 2006
- "Time" Magazine: The Fight Over Gay Adoption Heats Up; Michael Lindenberger; 2008
- Adopting: We Three Kings: A History of Adoption
