...Parenting vs. Adoption There are many difficult decisions that a teenage girl is faced with when finding out she is pregnant. Abortion is not a viable option for everyone, be it for moral, spiritual, or other reasons. Once the choice has been made to carry the pregnancy to term, the most important decision could be whether to place her child up for adoption or to raise the child. There are many challenges that will flood her mind. Will she have the emotional and financial support from her partner and family? Will she be able to finish school and obtain a career that will support herself and a child? Who will take care of the child when she is at school, or work, and where will they live? Will her religious values and beliefs weigh in on her decision? She is really still a child herself. Adoption can be made to seem like an easy way out. But is it? When a teenage girl finds out that she is pregnant, it will consume her thoughts. She will start to realize that her entire life is going to drastically change. She has to tell her parents, but is unsure of how they will react. Telling her partner can also be a terrifying task. How is everyone going to take the news? After a girl shares the news of the pregnancy, she is then faced with many arduous decisions which need to be addressed in a small amount of time. Pregnancy is only a short nine months when compared to the 18+ years of raising a child, or the lifetime of emotional strain of placing a child for adoption. ...
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...LGBT Adoption New Jersey’s statewide parenting legislation espouses a progressive stance on the matters of same-sex parenting and child care in the processes of adoption and foster parenting. The Garden State allows for same-sex adoption; allows single homosexuals to adopt; and allows second parent same-sex adoption (Lifelong Adoptions, 2013). New Jersey has passed progressive laws and policies that prohibit discrimination charged against LGBT individuals in the adoption process (Lifelong Adoptions, 2013). New Jersey state law also bans discrimination against LGBT individuals in the foster parent process (Lifelong Adoptions, 2013). New Jersey Statutes Annotated 9:3-43 enables for any person to adopt permitted the said person(s) pass a background investigation and meet adoption criteria for eligibility (Onelce, 2012). Unmarried joint adoptive parents petitioning to adopt a child can do so because of N.J.S.A. 9:3-43 (Onelce, 2012). In “Re-adoption of Two Children” by H.N.R., 666 A.2d 535 (Onelce, 2012) addresses second parent adoption; this statute exercises the possibility for an individual to petition for shared rights of custody with a parent who already possesses legal parental custody of a child. Several states prohibit joint adoption due to unmarried status. This statute is favorable for unmarried parents seeking to adopt in New Jersey. This New Jersey statute provides for an overall tolerant atmosphere for LGBT individuals and couples looking to adopt or become foster...
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...Six Feet Under: A Sociological Analysis In the HBO series Six Feet Under the story of David and Keith, a gay and interracial couple, is told. Throughout the series the couple has many ups and downs but in the final season they begin to settle down and start to make plans for their future. These plans include becoming parents so they decide to prusue surrogacy. When this attempt fails they attend an adoption fair where they meet Anthony; a young African American boy in foster care. David begins to bond with Anthony right away. After convincing Keith that they should adopt Anthony he and David go to the adoption agency to discuss their options. They then find out that Anthony has an older brother named Durrell. The couple decides to foster the brothers to see if they are a good fit for one another. Both Anthony and Durrell have extreme trust issues due to their previous experiences with their biological family and in foster care. Durrell is very rebellious and it begins to cause conflict in the house, mainly between him and Keith. When the boys begin to act out he quickly turns to harsh disipline and yelling. This conflict leads to Keith deciding that the boys are not a good fit and need to go back to the agency. David on the other hand has bonded with the brothers and insists that they keep them. After having the brothers for awhile David expresses feeling like a single mother who is left to do all of the work by himself because of Keith's lack on interest in them...
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...María Fernanda Ribas July 21, 2014 Why people should adopt? Adoption is a choice that parents have for giving a child three important things: love, a home and parenting. To think about what is best for your baby and about the future you want for your child is what adoption is all about. The majority of children that have been currently put in adoption were removed from their parents before two years old. In other words children who enter foster care at a young age remain longer. Every child deserves to be loved, to be taking care of, to feel protected by his/her parents and most important to show them that adoption can be a life changing for them. Each adopted child has different types of backgrounds. Because of this, parents that know they are prepared for adoption should have the mentality of knowing what the child’s background is and know what they’ve been through. As a matter of fact there are posibilities that these children may have various types of reactions and personalities. They could be positive or negative depending on their past situations. Also if parents give their adopting child a chance to explain to them how she or he are feeling about being adopted it could be a good head start and turned out a better relationship. The majority of parents that believe they have a chance to adopt must go through a process. In this process parents should have a plan for their child...
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...Journey 11th Grade 2012 Is Adoption an option? Adoption is one of the decisions that can be made with an unwanted pregnancy. Many women believe this is the best option. Adoption can be very difficult because of the emotional attachment involved. Some women who plan to have their baby adopted change their minds after giving birth. Giving up your child can be a very stressful time in a person's life. Some reasons why women give their baby up for adoption is, because they feel they can not give the baby as much love and support as he/she needs, or they can't financially support a baby at that time. Adoption is something that can be totally confidential and you don't need your parent's signature or consent for anything. Parents can neither force nor prevent adoption because they have no rights to your child. It is only legal to sign papers agreeing to adoption after your baby is at least six weeks old. This gives the mother time to change her mind. An adoption agency will place your child with the best suitable adopters. The mother and father can know as much or as little as they wish about the adoptive parents. After your child has been adopted you then have no right to contact your child. In some cases limited contact may be agreed. When the child is eighteen years old, he/she will legally be able to obtain their original birth certificate and adoption papers. Very few teens choose adoption. There are many reasons why, they bond to their unborn...
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...Adoption in the Middle School Years Introduction To adopt a child means to take another’s child and raise him/her as one’s own. The process of adoption will have numerous rewarding experiences as well as difficult ones. When it comes to adopting a child in the middle school years, more challenges will present themselves than in any other age group. During this age, children begin to develop a sense of identity and begin to question their life experiences and their biological parents. School-aged children at this age go through numerous significant developmental changes. Much of their identity is derived from their family and peers in their lives. However, for adopted children, developing an identity is more complicated than non-adopted children. They have to assimilate two separate families and biological backgrounds as they explore how they fit in and the person they are growing up to be. Many of these children often face self-esteem issues and self-worth, and that is what makes them different from other children. A majority of adopted children have difficulty building social relationships with those around them and this can lead to depression, low academic performance, and even aggression. It is clear to see why adopting a younger child would be much simpler, but older children need homes, as well. Research 1 For many decades, adoption has become a highly successful solution for many adults who cannot provide for their children. Although adoption is viewed as a solution...
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...article studied and surveyed adoption agencies around the world to discover their policies and attitudes toward lesbian and gay people as prospective adoptive parents. A survey was used as the statistical procedure and a chi-square test was used as a statistical test. The statistical procedure used in this study of adoption is a questionnaire. They were mailed to directors of adoption programs from public and private adoption agencies across the United States. The total was 891. Two-hundred-fourteen of the questionnaires were used in the study. The questionnaires were from 194 private adoption agencies from 45 different states and 20 questionnaires from 20 public adoption agencies from 13 different states. From the 214 questionnaires used in the study, 165 were women and only 28 were men. The mean of their ages were 46.5. “The questionnaire was designed to identify current adoption agency policies and practices, as well as social casework attitudes, regarding adoption of children by lesbians and gay men.” The questionnaire conducted was of 13 questions. These 13 questions asked about agency type, religious affiliation, number of placements for adoption made within the two-year period of 1995-1996, percentage of placements involving domestic infants and toddlers, older, and special needs children, and children from foreign countries, awareness of state law on adoption of gay and lesbians, agency policy about this issue, number of adoptions from gay or lesbians from...
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...of Parents and Carers Biological Parents: A biological parent has provided the genetic material required for parenting. This means that the parent provides the sperm or the ova. Generally Biological parents contribute genetic material as a result of sexual intercourse. However, with assisted reproductive technologies, creation of a foetus may involve other procedures. Social Parents: Social parents are not genetically related to the child but participate in the role of parenting. Social parents can become parents through adoption, fostering, step-parenting or surrogacy. The parents take on responsibilities of being a parent and may face particular difficulties due to the nature of their relationship with the child. Adoption: Is the process by which a child is given legal responsibility to a family other than their biological family. There are 3 types of adoption: 1. Child is already placed with prospective parents e.g. step-parent or other relative 2. Local Adoption and Over Seas Adoption (Australia is a signatory to the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption) 3. Adoption of children with special needs Children are no longer considered by law as belonging to or forming part of their biological family. A new birth certificate is issued showing the child as being part of the adopted family, and often the child’s name is changed at the same time. The Adoption Information Act 1990 enables adoptees, at 18 years of age, to have access to their original birth certificates...
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...significant others. Although none of these circumstances are ideal, the fact of the matter is that it happens. Many people fall into that single parent category after failed marriages and relationships (with kids). With the continued increase in divorce this speaks to the illusion of the ideal heterosexual home and its stability. Love conquers all, and it should be the true determining factor of normality. there are millions of children waiting to be adopted into steady homes. Everyone has the right to choose who they want to spend their life with, or take care of regardless of race, religion, and gender. Therefore gay couples should have the right to affirm their love by adopting legally and publicly. Those who are against gay adoption claim that they would hate to see a child with "two moms" or "two dads" because they would be teased and tormented for it. But then they forget the fact that if children were raised to be more tolerant and accepting of this there would be no Teasing. If it was taught to them that there is not just one family dynamic they would be more accepting. This is not a question of the interest of the child it is making excuses for this countries ignorance when it relates to homosexuals and their rights. What...
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...Should Same Sex Couples Have the Same Adoption Rights as Heterosexual Couples? Krystal Davis COM/220 March 13, 2012 Barbara Plyler Should Same Sex Couples Have the Same Adoption Rights as Heterosexual Couples? In 2008, President Barack Obama stated there are too many children who need loving parents to deny one group of people adoption rights (eQuality, 2005). A child will benefit from a healthy, loving home, whether the parents are gay or not (eQuality, 2005). With that statement in 2008 from the individual who holds the most powerful authority in the United States, why are gay and lesbian couples today still battling adoption laws? When in fact while trying to adopt and raise children a couple’s sexual orientation should not be a factor. Homosexuals should not have to battle or circumvent adoption laws. The American family does not look the same as it did 30 years ago; therefore the adoption laws should not be the same either. Consequently, the adoption laws for some states are changing as the world evolves and realizes that a child’s well-being is more important than his or her parent’s sexual preferences. Currently, gay and lesbian couples are prohibited from adopting in only two states, Utah and Mississippi (Tavernise, 2011). Equally important is the exclusion on marriage and equal parenting rights for both parents. Some same sex households face the inequality in parental rights when children are included from previous heterosexual relationships...
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...Homosexual Adoption Name Business Communication and Critical Thinking 01/27/2013 Homosexual Adoption Adoption is an intervention for at risk kids, who are in need of supportive and loving families. There are many children without homes, why not allow homosexual parents to welcome these children into a nurturing environment. A loving and supportive family is a detrimental ingredient needed to provide good parenting to orphaned children. Research suggests that gender identity, or sexual orientation does not affect a person’s ability to parent. UCLA conducted a study that compared children who were adopted out of foster care by homosexual couples, and heterosexual couples, and tracked their progress over time. The researchers followed 82 children, 22 of these children were adopted by homosexual parents at the average age of 4. Children in all three types of households benefited from adoption. On average, they made significant gains in cognitive development, their IQ scores increased by an average of 10 points, and they maintained stable levels of behavior problems. This study proves there is no scientific basis to discriminate against gay and lesbian parents (UCLA Study Finds That Gay And Lesbian Foster-Adopt Parents Are As Effective As Their Heterosexual Counterparts, 2012). Over 100,000 foster children in the U.S. are in need of homes. A potential 2 million homosexual couples are interested in adopting (Gates, 2007). There is a shortage of adoptive parents and an abundance...
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...Bibliography Page 7 Introduction According to A. Littauer on “Same Sex Parenting”, gay people have parented their children for as long as people have understood themselves as gay. However, homosexual parents often shielded themselves and their children from scrutiny by publicly concealing their sexual orientation in the past. But by the end of the twentieth century, an estimated six to ten million gay and lesbian parents in the United States were raising six to fourteen million children, often in openly recognized gay families. Most of these children were born to heterosexually married parents; one or both of whom later came out as gay or lesbian (Littauer 2008). Allowing LGBT parents to adopt or foster has been the subject of controversy for a long time. Discussions and debates about adoption and foster care by gay or lesbian parents occur frequently among child welfare policy makers, social service agencies and social workers. However, while such an ongoing debate exist, on any given day in the United States about a half million children are living foster care. Additionally, many of our personal resources are spent adopting internationally or through private domestic adoption agencies, in an attempt to avoid the unnecessary red tape and discrimination (Gates, et al 2007). Thus keeping all these factors in mind, I think the critical factor or issue when considering potential families in the adoption process should be the well-being of the child rather than the sexual orientation...
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...opposite sex. People feel this is what's best for a child. What a bunch of baloney this is just a stereotype. What happened to the best interest of the child? Why are there so many same-sex couples getting rejected by adoption agencies? Why are there so many children being kicked out of the school system because they have gotten too old. In the United States, more than 397,122 children are waiting to be adopted. Approximately 2,000,000 same-sex couples are interested in adopting, but religious groups are against it, and a lot of adoption agencies associated with different religious groups. Most religious groups feel as though same-sex couples should not even marry. They believe in God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, who gave them the right to judge? Same-sex couple's path to parenting is not easy. It depends on state laws and lots of money. In addition to same-sex adoption, it could help move children out of the welfare system, which would create more money for the state. Homosexual parents are more motivated and committed because they are parents by choice, not by accident. How many children are placed up for adoption by opposite sex couples? How many children are up for adoption by same-sex couples? Sexual orientation does not influence good parenting. People should understand. Just because same-sex couples raise you won't make you gay. Opposite sex couples have raised kids, and some are gay. It's not because their parents are, it is because it's their choice. A same-sex...
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...Over the last sixty years American families have changed drastically in many ways, For example families became more diverse, also many couples chose to live together without being married, also womens started to consider living as a family with their kids without being married. Families are more socially diverse now such as there are many same sex marriages, “ A growing number of gay men and lesbians are pursuing parenthood any way they can: adoption, surrogacy, donor sperm.” ( The Changing American Family). In my opinion I think that gay parents have the right to adopt children, just because they decided to be on the wrong track doesn't mean that they will be deprived to have kids, aside from all that i believe that gay parenting should not...
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...be shocking to think that a child could be raised in a gay household. But it is becoming more acceptable in our society to embrace different ideas of what a family should be, such as the acceptance of gay adoption. In the United States alone, the number of children forced into the foster care system is incredible. According to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System Report there were about 423,773 children in foster care in the United States only a couple of years ago. (The Afcars Report, 2010). Gay parents are already serving as foster parents towards children; adoption is simply confirming the legal rights of the gay couple. The sexual orientation of a potential parent looking to adopt should not matter; the child should be placed into a home as long as it is in the best interest of the child. The number of children in foster care is high, but it can be significantly decreased if we allow children to be adopted by homosexuals. However, there are still negative attitudes towards gay and lesbian adoption, making the process of adoption harder for homosexuals. A study interviewing 776 adoptive parents showed the differences in attitudes between married fathers, married mothers, and single mothers “The factors determining negative judgment of gay adoption varied depending on each group but the common views were affected by religious background, conservative political ideology, and a lower level of education” (Averett, Strong-Blakeney, Nalavany, & Ryan, 2011)...
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