GAY COUPLES’ RIGHTS TO ADOPT CHILDREN 3
In making decisions that concern children, the primary objective should be improve
children’s welfare. To this end, the opponents of granting of granting gay couples the same rights
as heterosexuals to adopt children argue that gay couples do not place the value in marriages as
heterosexuals because they cannot procreate (Schumm, 2016). The argument stems from the
belief that marriage is an institution established primarily for the sake of procreating and raising
children. Despite the plausibility of the case, it ignores the fact that one of the essential
responsibilities of parents is to offer protection to their children (Schumm, 2016). Protecting the
children is not contingent on whether the parents are heterosexual or gay. Hence, the focus
should be on enforcing measures that ensure that parents provide to their children irrespective of
whether they are gay or heterosexual.
Children adopted by gay couples mostly come from foster homes and orphanages or from
single mothers who cannot provide for their children. The deduction from this statement is
twofold. Firstly, gay couples become parents by choice which means that they have the
motivation and incentives to be exceptional parents (Schumm, 2016). Secondly, children who
end with gay parents need protection as much as the children with heterosexual parents
(Schumm, 2016). Moreover, most of the children are from poor backgrounds which make access
to parenting, gay or heterosexual, a better alternative than their current condition. It is also
imperative to note that allowing gay parents to adopt children and subjecting them to the same
laws as heterosexuals is a mark of a society that embraces diversity and is likely to bring up
children who are tolerant and open-minded.
To sum up, it is evident that gay couples should be accorded the same rights as
heterosexual in adopting children. Recognition of gay marriages implies that the society does not
intend to discriminate on any grounds including gender or sexuality. Denial of the right to adopt
