Federal bill would penalize adoption agencies that prioritize heterosexual couples
May 14, 2013 (FRC.org) - The Left has a funny way of celebrating Mother's Day. First, the President issues a bizarre tweet reminding moms that his gift is free birth control -- presumably so they never have to become mothers again. Then, of course, there was Secretary Arne Duncan's announcement that the Department of Education would stop acknowledging moms' existence altogether. Starting in 2014, the DOE is replacing "mother" and "father" with "Parent 1" and "Parent 2" on its student aid forms in an effort to be more politically correct (and anatomically incorrect).
Now, some in Congress want to get in on the act with a bill that would intentionally deprive children of a mother. Under this legislation, the government would punish any adoption agency that gives priority to married, heterosexual couples. The bill, co-sponsored by Reps. John Lewis (D-Ga.) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), would cut off the federal funding of any agency -- including faith-based charities -- that seek the safest and most nurturing home for kids. If it passes, the official policy of the U.S. government would be to penalize organizations who take the well-being of children into account in adoption placement.
Since when did adoption become a political tool?
This is how backwards we've become as a society! As we've seen in the Boy Scouts membership debate, America's focus is no longer the well-being of children but on the "well-being" of a small but politically powerful minority. There's an abundance of social science data supporting the common-sense belief that children do best when raised by a married mother and father. Because of that, there's every rational basis for agencies to prefer such households over those headed by same-sex couples in adoption.
In the largest peer-review study ever done on same-sex parenting, Dr. Mark Regnerus found that the emotional, financial, academic, and physical outcomes of kids raised in homosexual homes rated "suboptimal" or "negative" in almost every category. "There's nothing worse than being brought up by two gay dads," said homosexual actorRupert Everett. And Dr. Regnerus proves it. In outcome after outcome, he shows the serious risks to being raised in a homosexual home -- not the least of which are poverty, depression, and abuse.
Why would anyone -- including Congress -- knowingly put children at a disadvantage? Or worse, put the agencies that care about the social science out of business? Under this bill, faith-based adoption agencies would be forced to compromise their beliefs (sound familiar?) or lose their government contracts. Believe it or not, one of the biggest engines for adoption in America are private, social service agencies like Catholic Charities, who refuse to place kids with homosexual parents because it violates the teaching of scripture. In places like Illinois, Washington, D.C. and Massachusetts, where similar proposals have passed, Catholic Charities opted to close their doors rather than compromise the Bible's teachings. If H.R. 1681 became law, faith-based groups would be driven out of the adoption business all across America -- leaving children and prospective parents with even fewer options for building families.
Adoption is not -- and should never be -- about adults. This is about giving children the best chance to succeed in life. If homosexual activists truly cared about kids, they'd stop using them as leverage to force society -- through the government -- to embrace their lifestyle. It's time we shifted away from bills like "Every Child Deserves a Family" to Every Child Deserves a Mom and a Dad. You can help. Contact your representative and ask him or her to oppose H.R. 1681!
