Gay Couples as Fit to Adopt as Heterosexuals Says New Study
Because gay couples can't naturally have children, lots of them want to adopt. When they do, they'll be just as good parents as straight couples.
Patricia Reaney reported in Reuters this past Friday what researches said of multi-state study on gay adoption:
"We found that sexual orientation of the adoptive parents was not a significant predictor of emotional problems," Paige Averett, an assistant professor of social work at East Carolina University, said in a statement. "We did find, however, that age and pre-adoptive sexual abuse were," she added.
Despite the study's results, not everyone thinks gay couples should adopt. Jon Dougherty says in the World Net Daily that same sex adoption is bad for kids: "[R]aising kids in anything other than traditional mom-dad households is what has led to so many of today's mounting teen problems."
Ultimately I expect that studies with competing claims to come out in the future. Special interest groups in favor or against gay adoption will fund research that publishes a favorable result.
In the meantime, the research will be used by parties in litigation challenges gay adoption laws. In the Florida adoption case, for example, both sides cited research that gay couples are either as good or not as good parents as straight couples.
