Gay-lesbian should allowed to become foster parents or adopted - Personal Statement Example

Gay and lesbian couples deserve equal treatment as that of heterosexuals and therefore should be allowed to adopt children. The society has acted discriminately in the past against these people, with 29 states illegalizing such unions thereby making it difficult for them to adopt children. However, it should be known that there are benefits that can be accrued from allowing gay-lesbian couples to adopt children. For example, there are a lot of children, approximately 500000, being cared for under the child welfare system (Shirk 36).

Apparently, these children will at one time mature and be exempted from the same. Allowing gay-lesbian adoption helps in two main ways i.e. it enables the state to reduce the amount of tax payers money used to support this system and also gives the child a chance to grow up in a family where he or she is loved. In this context, the child acquires the right to inheritance thereby guaranteeing him a brighter future than that which he could have under the system. It is important to note that in a year such as 2000, the US government spent approximately $20 billion to support the program, money which could have been spent on other important sectors such as provision of quality healthcare (Shirk 45).

A significant number of children in the child welfare system come from families which administered torture and discrimination to them maybe due to disability or other types of health defects. As such, they feel rejected by the society and therefore would do anything only to make them feel loved. Having undergone the same predicaments in a society that tends to shun same sex relationships, gay couples are in a better position to understand these children and offer them emotional support based on their first hand experiences (Hicks 27).

It is therefore not a wonder to find such children excelling much more than those adopted by heterosexual couples. In addition, children adopted by heterosexuals may be subjected to competition for love and affection from other siblings, who may feel that they have more rights but in a gay family, such competition would be difficult to arise. However, in a society that continues to discriminate gay-lesbian couples, it would be difficult for an adopted child to grow and have a normal life due to the possibility of stigmatization by their peers (Hicks 54).

Children are more affected by their surroundings and as such, facing such experiences at a tender age may have great negative implications on their later lives. Some of the research conducted on juvenile delinquency show that childhood experiences are a major contributing factor. For example, a child brought up in a society that is harsh towards him may turn out to be an enemy of the same society and its constituents. Similarly, same sex marriages generally go against the expected and widely accepted social norms as well as one of the core purposes why God created man and woman.

Therefore, it would be harmful to the future of human species if these relationships are encouraged through empowering and advocating for gay rights such as supporting them to adopt children. Some critics point out that, children brought up under these households have higher chances of turning out to be gay and therefore, it means that the rate of reproduction would be adversely affected though not in the short term (Hicks 67). Despite these shortcomings, gay rights should be respected and the states, especially where same sex marriages are legalized, should evaluate requests for adoption on the basis of what the couple is offering to the child and not their sexual orientation.

Works Cited Hicks, Stephen. Lesbian and Gay Fostering and Adoption: Extraordinary yet Ordinary. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2003. Shirk, Martha. On Their Own: What Happens to Kids when they Age out of the Foster Care System. Basic Books, 2006.