Change the World Imagine that you are with the person of your dreams. They are smart, sweet, intelligent, your parents even approve of them. You have gotten to the point in your relationship where you want to have a family, but like lots of families in the US, you are not able to conceive a child, so you do what any loving couple would do, you try to adopt a child. You get dressed up, get your papers together and go to the adoption agency only to find out that it is illegal for you to adopt a child. One of the most controversial issues surrounding American today is allowing same-sex couples to adopt a child. Over the last decade, America has seen a frequent number of people “come out” in their lives. Because of this, we have seen more and more gay couples want to adopt a child. Unfortunately, today that process to adopt is very difficult to accomplish, more so than a heterosexual couples. Why is that you wonder? It seems as if every time a poll is taken, the majority is for gay marriage in general and steadily growing in favor of it; however, the United States continues to change every single day morally and ethically which seems endless. Today, approximately one in five male same sex couples and one in three female same sex couples are raising children. That is an increase from one in five female, and one in twenty male couples in 1990 (Belkin). Some of the major issues about not letting gay couples adopt include that can be argued are, children of same-sex parents are not markedly different from those of heterosexual parents, gay couples supposedly don’t have the opposite sex as role models, and they force their views upon their children. The most complicated of the issues is about the children, who are raised by same... ... middle of paper ... ...toys” than girls raised by straight mothers. And adult children of gay parents appear more likely than the average adult to work in the fields of social justice and to have more gay friends in their social mix.” Same-sex parents are almost universally open and honest with their children about the way they were conceived which ensures they have access to important information about their biological background. Abbie E Goldberg is an assistant professor of psychology at Clark University believes that children who are raised by same sex parents do “just fine” in spite of some who continue to believe that gay parents are a danger to their children. Research shows that same sex couples who raise children are not different from those who are what we call “normal” children. There is no increase of psychiatric disorders, and have just as many friends and are not forced.
The topic of child welfare is quite a broad one. There are numerous programs and policies that have been put in place to protect children. One of these policies is that of Adoption. Adoption was put into place to provide alternate care for children who cannot live with their biological families for various reasons. One of the more controversial issues surrounding adoption is that of Transracial adoption. Transracial Adoption is the joining of racially different parents and children (Silverman, 1993).
Trans-racial adoption has been and continues to be on the rise in many parts of the world. Throughout the years numerous questions pertaining to race and ethnicity have been raised. Ethnicity can be defined as a common belief that people with the same ancestry and genealogy should be associated together. While people of the same origin share common sociological aspects, people of the same race share a biological connection. Races are considered to be people who share many aspects of life, like the color of their skin and a common nationalism. A social class of people can be defined as individuals in a society who share the same socioeconomic status. It is a way to describe the social stratification of people in a society. It also gives remedial measures on coping with the issues of racial, religious and gender discrimination along with negative ethnicity that individuals may be faced when adopting a trans-racial child. This research paper covers the adoption of trans-racial children in regards to racism. There is also a discussion on the aspect of divorce in Canada. The following issues that lead to adoption are also included: The issues of poverty, and the experience of infertility.
Homosexual parents may or may not cause gender role confusion in young children. Critics love to comment on how homosexuals cause their children to be confused about gender roles, but as long as their parents explain and teach them how society expects a certain gender to behave, then the child should be fine. Times have changed, so the idea of women doing one thing, while men do the other is kind of going out of the window. As long as the child understands that each gender is different, and their bodies work differently, a child learning “gender rol...
Scientific studies have shown that children who grow up in one or two-parent gay or lesbian households fare just as well emotionally and socially as children whose parents are heterosexual. Studies have shown that children are more influenced by their interactions with their parents, than by their sexual orientation. (Kathy Belge, 2014)
Interracial adoption is an unhealthy thing for adoptees and challenges them to learn about their native culture. Although, it may provide a better economic living and educational life, it deprives from cultural knowledge and maybe even ethical traits. “While adoption does materially improve the lives of many individual children, at the same time, adoption burdens adoptees for life with enormous psychological challenges and emotional hurdles that must be continually renegotiated at different stages of the life span.” (Raible)
Shapiro, Joseph P., Gregory Stephen. “Kids with Gay Parents.” U.S News and World Report. 121.11
Second parent adoption is an important tool utilized by same-sex couples in an effort to protect their parental rights in states where same sex marriage is not recognized. Although gay and lesbian paren...
...ould not adopted him”(McKinley). Many same-sex couples live in fear if they do not have adoption papers, because their parental rights might be questioned if they were to travel where same-sex adoption is not allowed. Or if the child was to be an accident the non-legal parent would not have a say in the child's medical health.
Adoption is the complete and permanent transfer of parental rights and obligations, usually from one set of legal parents to adoptive parents(Ademec 27). Not until the late 19th century did the U.S. legislative body grant legal status to adoptive parents. This is when children and parents started to gain rights and support from the government. Through the years new laws have been passed and amended to keep the system fair to all adoptive parents. In 1994, Congress passed the Multiethnic Placement Act, making it illegal to delay the placement a child to find a racially matching family. In 1996 the Multiethnic Placement Act was amended to say, “One can not use race as a routine consideration in child placement”(Lewin sec.A). Before 1994, it was difficult to place a black child with white adopters. Last year 5,000 children were adopted from Europe, and 6,000 from Asia, while 183 came from Africa.(Lewin sec. A). The number of out-of-country adoptions are so high because of the requirements and regulations one must follow in the U.S. The requirements include being 21, and include being committed and loving. The home income must be adequate enough to support the family. Passing all of the medical exams and filling out the personal information is mandatory. But the main reason people adopt from overseas is because it is much quicker. A person can adopt a child from another country in a matter of months. In the U.S. the wait can exceed 5 years, which is why some people choose international adoption.
In recent years, same-sex relationships have become more encompassing in US society. State legislation is changing such as accepting gay marriages, enforcing anti-discrimination laws, and legal gay adoptions; the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community is becoming public. Gay-headed families, like heterosexuals, are diverse and varying in different forms. Whether a created family is from previous heterosexual relationships, artificial insemination, or adoption, it deserves the same legal rights heterosexual families enjoy. Full adoption rights needs to be legalized in all states to provide a stable family life for children because sexual orientation does not determine parenting skills, children placed with homosexual parents have better well-being than those in foster care, and there are thousands of children waiting for good homes.
Homosexuality is becoming more and more accepted and integrated into today’s society, however, when it comes to homosexuals establishing families, a problem is posed. In most states, homosexuals can adopt children like any other married or single adult. There are many arguments to this controversial topic; some people believe that it should be legal nationally, while others would prefer that is was banned everywhere, or at least in their individual states. There are logical reasons to allow gays to adopt children, but for some, these reasons are not enough. The main issue really is, what is in the best interest of the child? This type of problem isn’t really one with causes, effects, and solutions, but one with pros and cons. Like any other adoption situation, a parent prove themselves to be responsible and capable enough to raise a child on their own, or with a spouse.
Since the 1970s, studies on the effect of same-sex parenting on children have been conducted in the United States. Sociological debates have occurred from the idea of allowing same-sex couples to parent. Some groups feel that allowing this would undermine the traditional ideology of marriage and skew the perception of gender roles for their children. Sociologists continue to produce empirical research that studies samples of the approximately 125,000 same-sex couples raising nearly 220,000 children and comparing their roles as parents and the adult personalities of their children to children raised by heterosexual couples. Current scientific research comparing the outcomes of children raised by gay or lesbian parents with children of heterosexual parents consistently shows that same-sex parents are just as capable of raising “psychologically healthy and well-adjusted” children as heterosexual parents. Research comparing children raised by same-sex couples and heterosexual couples found no differences in the adjustment or mental health of these children as adults.
This is not a valid enough reason for someone to not be able to adopt. A mean child or person will find any reason to pick on someone, and instead of preventing a family we should teach and discipline mean children and behavior. Source D states, “Much of the resistance has a religious basis, with many objecting to the violation of traditional values represented by same-sex couples adopting children.”
Parents are known to have a big impact on their chills’ life. As children grow up they learn from their parents and model behaviors that they see after them. Relationships between child and parent are also an important factor in child development. Many believe that having same-sex parent impacts a child’s life. I do not believe that the sexual orientation of a parent either negatively or positively impact the child but the relation between the child and the parent has the most impact on a child’s life not the sexual orientation of the parent. Having same-sex parents does not negatively impact children. Parent children relationship has shown to be important indicators on friendships, how well a child does in school, and also a predictor of
Whether a parent is considering placing a child up for adoption, or a couple is looking to adopt, adoption is a long and hard process. Because most parents who place their child up for adoption feel they are ”unfit” to be a parent in one way or another, adoption is a great thing. Adoption is done out of love for a child. By placing a child up for adoption, a parent is allowing a child the right to grow up in a family who will love and support them, which may not have been possible without the adoption process.