Recap!

Welcome back for the fifth and final edition of our CAS 138T Civic Issues Blogs – it’s certainly been a long ride. From covering the foundations and history of the LGBTQ+ movement to detailing second-parent adoptions to examining vital legislation to shining a spotlight on one particular LGBTQ+ trailblazer in Congress, we’ve certainly made the most of our time here. We’ve informed, exposed, and answered questions, and brought relevant, important issues to the light that many in the general public were unaware of. And yet, one post remains; conveniently enough, there is one issue at hand that has not been addressed: the international community.

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The Debate

As in any contentious issue, there exist may different valid arguments on both sides of the debate. On the one hand, the dominant idea introduced in the founding of the United States that “all men are created equal” should mean that all people (regardless of sex, gender identity, sexual identity, sexual orientation, religion, or skin color) should be treated equally under the law and alongside their peers – anything contrary to this constitutes discrimination. Furthermore, on the specific topic of LGBTQ+ adoption, it has been proven over and over that these couples make just as capable parents as their hetero counterparts (if not better). LGBTQ+ couples are often more prepared and dedicated to parenthood because it is not something they can just stumble into on accident, making their homes on average more stable and secure for children. On that note, there is a crisis within the child welfare system due to a lack of suitable homes. LGBTQ+ families help to bridge this gap; in fact, thanks to gay adoption legislation in the United States, over 65,000 children have been able to find a home where before there was none. As a result, these children often go on to have more diverse, open, and well-rounded perspectives that only aid in developing a more understanding and accepting world (“Arguments for and against Gay Adoption”).

Logically, however, for each of these arguments, there exists a counterargument. Within the European Union, for example, there exists a controversy between mandating members to legalize the practice and allowing them to maintain the autonomy that is so highly valued. Proponents of this position, much like proponents within the individual States, maintain that it should be a country-by-country decision – not the EU’s. Furthermore, the matter begets the question of religious, moral, and democratic liberty. Christian, Jewish, and Islamic leaders (not to mention conservatives and Republicans) have all spoken out against gay marriage, and legalizing the practice runs the risk of alienating and offending these prominent demographics. As for adoption itself, faith-based adoption agencies play a crucial role in mitigating the child welfare crisis, but in both the United States and the United Kingdom several have already shut their doors as a result of being forced to work with LGBTQ+ couples, which only worsens the situation for the thousands of kids in need of homes (“Arguments for and against Gay Adoption”).

Stats Around the World

All in all, it is verifiably legal for same-sex couples to adopt in just 54 out of 195 countries worldwide, and one of these countries, New Zealand, requires the couple be married. This means that little over a quarter of the world’s countries have protections in place allowing same-sex couples to adopt a child – and that’s excluding data for the rest of the LGBTQ+ community. Of the remaining 141 countries, 127 are somewhere in between total illegality and complete legality. This “in-between” could mean that they only support single-parent adoption or stepparent adoption but otherwise outlaw the practice. As for the last quarter of the world, 41 consider the adoption of a child by a same-sex couple to be completely illegal, and in some cases, homosexuality itself fits this criterion as well. The remaining 11 countries either have “No data, no laws, [are] N/A, or ambiguous” (“Same-Sex Adoption by Country: Equaldex”).

To further contextualize the 54/195 statistic, the time frame in which it occurred must be addressed. In the last 60 years, the number of countries in which adoption by a same-sex couple was legal jumped from just 10 from 1963-1990 to the current total of 54. The biggest jump came at the turn of the century in which the push for legality took over 30 countries by storm, with the most recent development happening with Cuba’s legalization of the practice in September of 2022. Likewise, the most recent region to outlaw the practice was the province of Kabul in Afghanistan in September of 2021 (“Same-Sex Adoption by Country: Equaldex”). Overall, support for LGBTQ+ rights is on the rise, but as the data unfortunately shows it has been a long and steady battle that is still playing out in many regions around the world.

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Final Remarks

The battle for LGBTQ+ rights has been going on for centuries and likely will continue for decades, if not centuries, to come. The most vital step in helping this community comes not in the form of silence or complacency, but through awareness, activism, and acceptance within our rapidly diversifying world. The fact that such a large part of the global community is still being denied their basic human rights – to marriage, to parenthood, and even to life – is impermissible. The world is changing – so too must we.

Sources:

“Same-Sex Adoption by Country: Equaldex.” LGBT Rights by Country & Travel Guide, Equaldex, 26 Sept. 2022, www.equaldex.com/issue/adoption.