Consultation on gay adoption ends

PinkNews logo on a pink background surrounded by illustrated line drawings of a rainbow, pride flag, unicorn and more.

The Scottish Parliament’s consultation into the Adoption and Children Bill which would give gay couples adoption rights, ends today.

The Education Committee has heard views from a cross section of Scottish society since the bill was produced last March, and will begin to consider the submitted evidence in the coming months.

Conflicts emerged last month when Catholic adoption agencies pushed for an opt out, which has been applied in England and Wales, Stephen Small, from the St Andrew’s Children Society, said: “We would like to see more evidence on children’s experiences being brought up in same-sex adoption situations before we felt it was something we should involve ourselves.”

In written evidence, Gordon Macdonald of evangelical group Care for Scotland, said: “Adoption by same-sex and unmarried couples is unlikely to provide the same security and stability as adoption by a married couple and, as such, will not be in the best interests of children.

But gay groups said the child’s care is more important than the sexuality of the parents, Rebekah Pratt, of the group Rainbow Families, supported by groups such as Stonewall Scotland and Gay Dads Scotland, said: “Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender parents do provide tried and tested, loving and secure, enriching homes to meet the best interests of children.”

The Catholic Church of Scotland appears to be behind the law. In its submission it recognised the need to recruit more potential adoptive parents, and acknowledged that there is “some force in giving legal recognition which might enhance the child’s stability.”

The denomination gave approval to gay adoption at its annual conference last week.

Although they suggest a “no right to adopt” clause, which would allow agencies to judge if same sex couples are suitable, the submission also states, “We do not believe the status for the relationship should be a bar to adoption, and accept “enduring family” nature of the relationship is vital for the child’s well-being.

The Episcopal Church voiced similar support, saying, “The well being of the child should be put first rather than traditional values of society which have tended to pass judgement on a child who comes from a less conventional family set up.”

The Scottish Council of Jewish Communities drew attention to the “no right to adopt” clause and pushes for an exemption for agencies on the grounds of religious beliefs.

Barbara Hudson, director of the British Association for Adoption and Fostering Scotland told politicians they would be doing a “disservice” to children if they abandoned the legislation.

But Parents for Consultation claimed in their submission that the law looks more like an equal rights campaign than something to protect vulnerable children.

The group claims research shows gay couples have less stable relationship and warn that it could see an “unnatural” increase in gay people, “Although I am sympathetic to the human rights of people born into homosexual tendencies, I do not believe we should be involved in some kind of social engineering, ” the letter says.

Evidence has also been provided by local councils, legal and medical groups as well as individuals.

The bill aims to counter a significant reduction in families available for vulnerable children by allowing gay and unmarried couples to adopt.

Advertisement Remove ads

It proposes measures to make the process of adoption easier and to provide better protection.

Present laws only allow one partner in an unmarried couple to adopt.

Comments (0)

MyPinkNews members are invited to comment on articles to discuss the content we publish, or debate issues more generally. Please familiarise yourself with our community guidelines to ensure that our community remains a safe and inclusive space for all.

Loading Comments