Should Gays and Lesbians be Given the Right to have Children - Essay Example

Insert Should Gays And Lesbians Be Given The Right To Have Children? Introduction The increasing need for adoption services and presence of gay and lesbian communities and couples have added to the increased awareness of discriminations against gay and legal couples legally having children. In this respect, adoption agencies, legal rights groups and courts have increased the awareness of the issue at hand – legal rights of gays and lesbians to have children who enjoy the same rights as those enjoyed by heterosexual couples and their children. Regrettably, despite the increased awareness of the need to address the right of same sex couples to have children, there have been significant obstacles to realizing the goal of allowing gay and lesbian couples to have children. In this case, while some states have recognized same sex unions, an even fewer number have allowed same sex couples to have children. Furthermore, the rights of gays and lesbians to adopt children or have surrogates is dependent on individual state legislations. Until the last 20 years, children of gay and lesbian couples were resultant of previous heterosexual relationships. In this case one of the parents would determine that they were either gay or lesbian thereby walking out of the heterosexual relationship and seeking out a same sex partner. On the other hand, in the last few years there has been a trend shift in which gay or lesbian couples have undergone donor insemination or applied to both public and private adoption agencies for children. For that matter, an increasing number of same sex couples are either planning for children or raising children. To elaborate further, the 2010 US census indicates that as much as 6 million individuals – both adults and children – have either gay or lesbian parents. In addition, 220,000 children are being parented by either gay or lesbian couples (National Center for Lesbian Rights). Discussion Arguments forgays and lesbians having the right to have children Gays and lesbians should be given the right to have children. In reference to that, an increasing number of gay and lesbian couples are raising children resultant of surrogacy and artificial reproductive technologies. In this case, legally drafted surrogacy contracts and donor agreements provide for the child’s parents to exercise their rights as the child’s guardians. In this case, within the United States, a number of states recognize these agreements and contracts as independent of the parents and guardians relationships – could be gay, lesbian or heterosexual –, though not all of them enforce the agreements and contracts. For that matter, lesbians and gays must undergo an adoption process that results from a court order allowing them to be parents to the child. In respect to this, not all states allow them to adopt children and discriminates against them adopting children (Burda 1). Gates reports that sexual orientation is essentiallyimmaterial to a couple’s ability to be good parents. In this case, research in social sciences ratifies what child rearing common sense and experience already proposes, that is to say that time, patience, stability and love are the most critical factors in child rearing and ensuring a well-developed child; even more critical than the parents’ sexual orientation or gender. For that matter, the research studies have determined that there issignificantlack of difference and distinctiveaspects between the general demographics, parenting styles and lifestyles of heterosexual, lesbian and gay couples.The children develop sexually, socially, cognitively, and emotionally similar for same sex and different sex parents. Thus, sexual orientation is irrelevant to parenting practices (Gates). The legal right to have children protects the children. In this case, the child is able to claim inheritance rights or financial support from the parents. For that matter, children of same sex parents – who are not legally allowed to have the children – are not entitled to receive compensation benefits or retirement and social security benefits if one of the parents or both die, are incarcerated or incapacitated. In addition, they are not allowed to receive any insurance benefits in their capacity as the children of the policy holder. To elaborate further, when the parents separate the children would not be protected and may sustain emotional harm. Thus, in the absence of a legally definedparent-child relationship, children of lesbian and gay couples are deprived of the right to enjoy emotional benefits derived from having both parents (National Center for Lesbian Rights). Arguments against gays and lesbians having the right to have children Legally permitting both gay and lesbian couples to legally have children contravenes the law against same sex unions. In this case, most American states – while not expressly prohibiting gay and lesbian unions – do not legallyrecognize same sex relationships. In reference to that, by June 2012, only the District of Columbia and 6 American states legally recognized same sex unions and marriages. Regrettably, both Washington and Maryland subjected their marriage and union reforms to a constitutional referendum in the November 2012 polls. On the other hand, other states did not forbid same sex unions, rather they allowed gays and lesbians to contract civil unions and domestic partnerships. As a result of these contradictions governing same sex unions, it would be imprudent to allow same sex couples to legally have children when such a legal statuswould likely change if and when they traverse state lines. In addition, the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)does not authorize the federal government to extend legally directed benefitsto the legal spouses of gay and lesbian entitled to such benefits – because they are married or in a union as are enjoyed by heterosexual couples. For instance, under DOMA veterans and Social Security survivor benefits are not extended to same-sexspouses. Thus – from a legal perspective –, it would be imprudent to allow same sex unions to legally have children since those children would not enjoy the same rights as their counterparts who are parented by heterosexual couples (Patterson, Fulcher and Wainright 5-6). Ryan (105) reports that while there is evidence that same sex couples are as good as – if not better than – their heterosexual counterparts at parenting, there is also evidence that children parented by same sex couples do not receive the best care. Applying the Parent-as-a-Teacher Inventory and the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale as a tool, Ryan (120-122) demonstrates that some lesbian and gay parents fell into the undesirable range in the parenting scale and their children had strength levels below the scale norms. Thus, it may be prudent to only let heterosexual couples be parents as same sex couple were not good at being parents. If same sex couples are to be allowed to be parents, then each case must be addressed on a case by case basis (Ryan 127-128) Children of same sex couples are easily traumatized, especially in cases where same sex unions are prejudiced against or frowned upon. In this case, the argument against same sex couples being legally allowed to parent is prejudice, either at an institutional level – including inadequate support from the community, legislation, social services and support groups – oron a personal level – including discrimination in school and social gatherings. For that matter, children of same sex couples may be singled out by their teachers and peers who are insensitive to their unique situation and position. This is especially the case when the child has problems that are normal to children parented by heterosexual parents but the same sex couple is blamed for the problem. In addition, the non-biological parent may feel left out since they are the other parent and this ends up negatively affecting their ability to effectively and efficiently parent (Raising Children Network). Conclusion Gay and lesbian couples find it very hard to parent and have children since they do not enjoy such rights under family law. In this case, they are unable to enjoy adoption, visitation and custody rights even though they want to preserve and strengthen their family links, for the most part with their children – either biological or adopted. As gay and lesbian couple increase and become more visible, there is an increasing need to repeal the laws that apply to them and ensure that they enjoy the same rights enjoyed by their heterosexual counterparts. For that matter, there is need to integrate same sex couples into the existing family law protections framework. This is because each childis constitutionally protected and allowed to be in a home that provides them with parental care, in addition to love. In fact, each child is constitutionally allowed to enjoy emotional security resultant from the lawfulacknowledgment of their family.Thus, it is imperative that the legal ability of same sex couples to have children and parent be appealed to evaluate the couples on the foundation of theirparental ability and character, not their sexual inclination. The child’s best interest should be foremost in all discussions. Works Cited Burda, Joan. 10 issues for lesbian and gay families. Massachusetts: Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company. 2012. Print. Gates, Gary.“LGBT Parenting in the United States.”Williams Institute. Web. 4 July 2014. National Center for Lesbian Rights. “Adoption by lesbian, gay, and bisexual parents: an overview of current law.” National Center for Lesbian Rights. Web. 4 July 2014. Patterson, Charlotte, Fulcher, Megan, and Wainright, Jennifer. “Children of lesbian and gay parents: Research, law and policy.” University of Virginia. Web. 4 July 2014. Raising Children Network. “Parenting in a same-sex relationship.” Raising Children Network. Web. 4 July 2014. Ryan, Scott. “Parent-child interaction styles between gay and lesbian parents and their adopted children.” Journal of GLBT Family Studies. 3.2-3 (2007); 105-132. Read More