<p>Unterred by all they have to go through – fancially, legally and socially – to make happen, creasg numbers of gay upl are choosg to have children. <strong>Emma Brock </strong>reports</p>
Contents:
- WHY GAY PARENTS MAY BE THE BT PARENTS
- GAY PARENTS RAISG KIDS: HOW WILL THEY FARE?
- KIDS OF GAY PARENTS FARE WORSE, STUDY FDS, BUT REARCH DRAWS FIRE OM EXPERTS
- WISNS MIDDLE SCHOOL FEATUR 'THIS BOOK IS GAY' LIBRARY, STIRRG ONLE OUTRAGE
- GAY PARENTG: 'S PLITED
WHY GAY PARENTS MAY BE THE BT PARENTS
Though kids of gay and straight parents turn out no differently acrdg to multiply studi, kids same-sex hom may have a tolerance advantage on average. * are gay parents good parents *
Gay marriage, and pecially gay parentg, has been the cross hairs recent Jan. 9), Pope Benedict lled gay marriage a threat "to the future of humany self, " cg the need for children to have heterosexual rearch on fai head by gays and lbians don't back up the dire assertns. In fact, some ways, gay parents may brg talents to the table that straight parents don' parents "tend to be more motivated, more mted than heterosexual parents on average, bee they chose to be parents, " said Abbie Goldberg, a psychologist at Clark Universy Massachetts who rearch gay and lbian parentg.
Gays and lbians rarely bee parents by accint, pared wh an almost 50 percent accintal pregnancy rate among heterosexuals, Goldberg said. "And while rearch dit that kids of gay parents show few differenc achievement, mental health, social functng and other measur, the kids may have the advantage of open-mdns, tolerance and role mols for equable relatnships, acrdg to some rearch. Not only that, but gays and lbians are likely to provi hom for difficult-to-place children the foster system, studi show.
) [5 Myths About Gay People Debunked]Adoptg the needitGay adoptn recently ed ntroversy Illois, where Catholic Chari adoptn servic cid November to cease offerg servic bee the state refed fundg unls the groups agreed not to discrimate agast gays and lbians. Catholic opposn asi, rearch suggts that gay and lbian parents are actually a powerful rource for kids need of adoptn.
GAY PARENTS RAISG KIDS: HOW WILL THEY FARE?
The days, gay parents are no novelty. * are gay parents good parents *
Acrdg to a 2007 report by the Williams Instute and the Urban Instute, 65, 000 kids were livg wh adoptive gay parents between 2000 and 2002, wh another 14, 000 foster hom head by gays and lbians. Donaldson Adoptn Instute found that, of gay and lbian adoptns at more than 300 agenci, 10 percent of the kids placed were olr than 6 — typilly a very difficult age to adopt out. Sixty percent of gay and lbian upl adopted across rac, which is important given that mory children the foster system tend to lger.
KIDS OF GAY PARENTS FARE WORSE, STUDY FDS, BUT REARCH DRAWS FIRE OM EXPERTS
Jot statement om advocy groups lls study a "flawed, misleadg, and scientifilly unsound paper that seeks to disparage lbian and gay parents;" thor fends his study * are gay parents good parents *
More than half of the kids adopted by gays and lbians had special report didn't pare the adoptn preferenc of gay upl directly wh those of heterosexual upl, said thor David Brodzsky, rearch director at the Instute and -edor of "Adoptn By Lbians and Gay Men: A New Dimensn of Fay Diversy" (Oxford Universy Prs, 2011).
WISNS MIDDLE SCHOOL FEATUR 'THIS BOOK IS GAY' LIBRARY, STIRRG ONLE OUTRAGE
But rearch suggts that gays and lbians are more likely than heterosexuals to adopt olr, special-needs and mory children, he said.
Part of that uld be their own preferenc, and part uld be bee of discrimatn by adoptn agenci that puts more difficult children wh what seworkers see as "ls sirable" matter how you slice , Brodzsky told LiveScience, gays and lbians are highly terted adoptn as a group.
GAY PARENTG: 'S PLITED
The 2007 report by the Urban Instute also found that more than half of gay men and 41 percent of lbians the U.
That adds up to an timated 2 ln gay people who are terted adoptn. "When you thk about the 114, 000 children who are eed for adoptn who ntue to live foster re and who are not beg readily adopted, the goal is to crease the pool of available, terted and well-traed dividuals to parent the children, " Brodzsky addn, Brodzsky said, there's evince to suggt that gays and lbians are pecially acceptg of open adoptns, where the child retas some ntact wh his or her birth parents.