Adoption by same-sex couples

Alfonso Bayona
Argument Tuesday
English 1101
February 21, 2012
Adoption by Same-sex Couples
Historically, sentimental and sexual attraction between same-sexes has been a subject of controversy through all time from the standpoint of social, cultural, legal and religious views. Similarly, at present and with relation to the adoptive parents, the big controversy is whether the families ofgay and lesbian couples are not suitable for any child. Many responses compared to the large number of questions about the adoption of children by same-sex couples have split public opinion: Could this cause some kind of psychological disorder to the child? How would this influence the child's mind that his maternal and paternal figure is represented by the same-sex? Is it true that childrenbeing raised by gay couples have a good chance of opting for the same sexual orientation of their parents? Is it possible that the education and the growth of a child can be marked by sexual status of their parents? Are parents bad parents just because they are gay? Are parents good parents just because they are heterosexual? Each time you touch the subject, the media and public opinionare polarized, some in defense and other against adoption by same-sex. The main argument of those who defend it is that "society must recognize that gay people are as worthy as heterosexual people. The homosexual person has exactly the same personal dignity as heterosexual, and therefore rejects any vexatious or discriminatory attitude against him. People of the same-sex, have equal rights toadoption as heterosexuals.” (International Gay & Lesbian Human right Commission) On the other hand, those who are against it, think that "homosexuality and heterosexuality should not be considered as two equally valid options and therefore is a great mistake to expose children to even more confusion delivering them to gay couples who, for much love you can give them, impede their normalpsychological development to become parental figures” (Catholic.net, Colombia) Likewise, Anti-Gay Groups, how American Family Association (AFA), “organization that promotes conservative Christian values” (Wikipedia.org), argue that "homosexuality is contagious and pervert to children, making them also gay.” Also, they claim: "We oppose the homosexual movement's efforts to convince our society that theirbehavior is normal. The Bible declares that homosexuality is unnatural and sinful.” Who has the right? We could think that both have valid reasons, but what tips the balance in favor of the adoption of the same-sex, are the scientific studies made on adoption by same-sex. Those have failed to demonstrate that these situations cause psychological damage to children and there areonly for ideological reasons of biased individuals who want to limit same-sex partners to adopt.
Firstly, several years ago I was opposed to adoption by same-sex couples for my religious and moral convictions, but one occasion changed that. I was touring slums in my city and saw the children left without food, homeless, uneducated, many of them orphans, innocent people not to blame for theircondition. Equally, I thought also how it was possible that a man could love other man and one woman to other woman. I was radical in my ideology and I was against the adoption of the same-sex. After several years of seeing the social reality in my country Colombia, I began to understand that gay people make good parents. Poverty rates are high and numbers of children orphaned have increased over theyears. To illustrate, according to the web site (Wikipedia.org), “United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) was created by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946, to provide emergency food and healthcare to children. They play a central role in monitoring the situation of children and women”. Reading their document about Orphan Estimates 2009, UNICEF informed that “in world there...