Since when is the adoption of a child who needs a family “morally and socially wrong?” I agree that there will never be a time when all heterosexual relationships are perfect and healthy; nor will all homosexual relationships ever be perfect. But if a relationship is full of love and the couple is able to care for and nurture a child, shouldn’t they have the right to do so, regardless of whether they are gay or straight?
I don’t think that being raised by gay parents will “make it more likely for the child to choose to be gay” at all, as Matthew Sullivan says in his letter to the editor (“Gay adoption is wrong,” April 1, pg. 10). In fact, I doubt that any homosexual couples would encourage anything other than the child’s own sexual orientation. I personally haven’t met or heard of anyone who “chose” to be gay because their parents taught them that it was “right;” rather, sexual orientation seems to be something that develops regardless of what is considered right or wrong in a given family or community environment. And why would a homosexual couple want its child to be faced with such prejudices against gays if homosexuality is not the child’s natural orientation to begin with?
Coming from a straight girl, I don’t think homosexuality is a conscious choice, just like I don’t think that my heterosexuality was a choice either. We should be looking at a couple’s ability to love and care for a child and their ability to provide strong morals and promote acceptance of others as qualifications for adoption, rather than checking for simply a male/female partnership.
Jennifer Ujiie
CAS ’07