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Same Difference?
One effect of the Adoption and Children Bill which is currently inching its way onto the statute books will be to allow same-sex couples to adopt children.
Single parent families are of course a familiar institution for both natural and adopted children, whether by design or by the randomness of death or divorce. Single adopters deserve all the support they can get, and are already accepted in the UK (and in some source countries) for inter-country adoptions. AFAA is pleased to have such resolute people represented in our membership.
Applying the two heads are better than one principle would suggest a good case for gay adoption. Whatever the motives, this point seems to be emerging in several Western legal systems, notably those of Denmark, Iceland, the Netherlands and, most recently, Sweden. The position in the USA is, as so often, complicated by differences between states. Not everyone thinks this is a good idea. The British Social Attitudes Survey finds that 84% of the public oppose adoption by homosexuals. Are such views justified by the scientific evidence?
Research on the effects of children growing up with same-sex parents is quite extensive, albeit dealing with data from small samples. There seems to be no evidence of risk to any aspect of children’s development as a result of growing up with one or more gay parent. Children seem to have better outcomes when the daunting tasks of parenthood are shared, and it is no surprise that (to paraphrase the sociology-speak) children of parents in happy relationships of any sort are better adjusted: children apparently are more powerfully influenced by family processes and relationships than by family structure. See www.aap.org/policy/020008t.html for the sources of this research.
This sounds like good news for same-sex potential inter-country adopters. While same-sex couples might be more inclined towards adoption than heterosexual ones, is this likely to result in a growth of inter-country adoption? That will depend on the attitudes in sending countries, and a glance over the countries of origin of most AFAA children suggests that the law in the UK may be somewhat ahead of social attitudes in most countries. We have to hope that our lead will serve as an example, and that authorities in the main source countries will show correspondingly fair treatment in terms of accepting such couples for placements.
(Personal views by Andrew Gibbons )
Where Now?
Many British potential inter-country adopters are wondering which countries they can turn to, following China’s introduction of restrictions on the number of adoption applications from the UK in December 2001. In recent years China has been by far the largest source of adoptions into the UK, and the current annual quota of 126 applications is based on half the number for the previous year, which leaves quite a gap to fill.
Looking at American figures for the last few years, Russia would be the most obvious immediate alternative. South Korea and Guatemala are the next largest sources, with Romania, Ukraine, India, Vietnam and Cambodia all having become important contributors. For Britons, adopting from the USA can have advantages, although cost isn’t usually one of them. As China well illustrates, the reliability of a single country should never be taken for granted. Bureaucratic or political problems can all too easily interrupt the flow of adoptions, which can be distressing for those people caught in the crossfire. The world is an uncertain place, and inter-country adopters as always still need to do their research and networking and to hope for the best.
(Personal views by Andrew Gibbons )
Personal views by Andrew Gibbons.
Andrew Gibbons
chairman.afaa@pobox.comPlease note that views expressed in these articels are not necessarly those of the Editor or the Webmaster or of the AFAA Committee.
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Last modified: 15 February, 2004