Friday, March 24, 2006
Gay Adoption
I caught this story on Pam's House Blend. I am sure it will not get picked up by mainstream media so I will help spread the news by posting it here.
The principal findings of the report, which is entitled "Expanding Resources for Children," are:* Against a backdrop of increasing public acceptance, social science research concludes that children reared by gay and lesbian parents fare comparably to those of children raised by heterosexuals on a range of measures of social and psychological adjustment.* Studies are growing in number and rigor, but the body of research on gay/lesbian parenting is relatively small and has methodological limitations. Still, virtually every valid study reaches the same conclusion: The children of gays and lesbians adjust positively and their families function well. The limited research on gay/lesbian adoption points in the same direction.* Though few states have laws or policies explicitly barring homosexuals from adopting, some individual agencies and workers outside those states discriminate against gay and lesbian applicants based on their own biases or on mistaken beliefs that such prohibitions exist.* Laws and policies that preclude adoption by gay or lesbian parents disadvantage the tens of thousands of children mired in the foster care system who need permanent, loving homes."The bottom line for those of us who advocate for children is clear," said Adam Pertman, the Executive Director of the Adoption Institute. "There's simply no credible research to indicate that children are harmed in any way when they're adopted by gay and lesbian parents, but there's lots of evidence to indicate that they do well in those homes. So, if we as a society believe that kids should be our primary concern, we have to put aside our prejudices and preconceived notions, and do the best we can for them."
This is confirms what we already knew, but it is an important report. The next step, after banning gay marriage, is to ban gay adoption. Catholic Social Services is no longer facilitating adoptions in Massachusetts because the law there says that they have to consider gay people as parents. They would rather keep kids in foster care than place them in gay households. I was raised Catholic. I don't think those in power in the Catholic Church reflect the true values of American Catholic, but that is a different post.
The principal findings of the report, which is entitled "Expanding Resources for Children," are:* Against a backdrop of increasing public acceptance, social science research concludes that children reared by gay and lesbian parents fare comparably to those of children raised by heterosexuals on a range of measures of social and psychological adjustment.* Studies are growing in number and rigor, but the body of research on gay/lesbian parenting is relatively small and has methodological limitations. Still, virtually every valid study reaches the same conclusion: The children of gays and lesbians adjust positively and their families function well. The limited research on gay/lesbian adoption points in the same direction.* Though few states have laws or policies explicitly barring homosexuals from adopting, some individual agencies and workers outside those states discriminate against gay and lesbian applicants based on their own biases or on mistaken beliefs that such prohibitions exist.* Laws and policies that preclude adoption by gay or lesbian parents disadvantage the tens of thousands of children mired in the foster care system who need permanent, loving homes."The bottom line for those of us who advocate for children is clear," said Adam Pertman, the Executive Director of the Adoption Institute. "There's simply no credible research to indicate that children are harmed in any way when they're adopted by gay and lesbian parents, but there's lots of evidence to indicate that they do well in those homes. So, if we as a society believe that kids should be our primary concern, we have to put aside our prejudices and preconceived notions, and do the best we can for them."
This is confirms what we already knew, but it is an important report. The next step, after banning gay marriage, is to ban gay adoption. Catholic Social Services is no longer facilitating adoptions in Massachusetts because the law there says that they have to consider gay people as parents. They would rather keep kids in foster care than place them in gay households. I was raised Catholic. I don't think those in power in the Catholic Church reflect the true values of American Catholic, but that is a different post.
# posted by Dawn @ 9:38 AM 
