This month, in a first for Australia, a gay male couple adopted a child. The adoption has since been at the centre of a fierce debate both in WA and across Australia about gay families. OUTinPerth reports on the circumstances of the recent adoption, the different sides of the debate and what recent scientific studies have found.
In 2002, Western Australia changed its Adoption Act (1994) so that gay and lesbian couples were legally permitted to adopt, and the recent adoption of a boy by two gay men is the first by a same-sex couple since the amendment. The couple had been on the waiting list for a child since they were approved to adopt 3 years ago. They were finally taken off the list when a birth mother selected them as the best parents for her child. Reportedly the child has been in the care of the adopting couple for some time now, but it was only with the final court approval in June that the adoption became a matter of public record and, thus, public debate. The identities of the involved parties remains confidential.
Locally, the adoption story broke on the Sunday Times’ PerthNow website on Wednesday June 13. The next day it was front-page of the West Australian. For the remainder of the month, what had initially been the story of one gay couple’s adoption grew into a debate on gay adoptions, parenting and families.
WA Attorney General Jim McGinty, who approved of the adoption and was instrumental in pushing through the law reforms that enabled same-sex couples to adopt, said in support of same-sex couples adopting:
‘Stereotyping couples simply doesn’t work when it comes to adoption. Everyone is different. That is why the authorities put prospective parents through an exhaustive process with the Department of Child Protection. That process, over a number of years, focuses on the best interests of the child and how that child will be best cared for, supported and loved.’
The Attorney General’s opinion is one that many adoption agencies and foster services share. Teenshare, a WA foster care service, now actively recruits same-sex couples to become foster carers. Stephan Lund, the Teenshare Co-ordinator for Anglicare WA, told OUTinPerth that although no same-sex couples are currently fostering with Teenshare, he believed ‘that people should be assessed on their merits to perform the role that they have applied for, regardless of sexual preference. Also, to meet the diverse needs of children and young people who are unable to live at home, there should be a diverse group of foster carers and adoptive parents who represent the diversity of society. I think same sex couples should be allowed to adopt if they meet the criteria that everyone has to meet.’
In the case of the WA couple, the birth mother’s role in selecting the couple as the best parents for the child has been emphasized by those supporting the adoption. In the Thursday June 14 Morning program on 720, the biological grandmother of the adopted boy called in to support her daughter’s choice of adoptive parents.
‘I wanted to let you know that this child is doing wonderfully… that he is treasured and it was the best thing we could have done in the world, she said, adding later, ‘It isn’t a matter of being gay or not, it is a matter of being the best parents and that is what they are.’
2007 Pride Patrons Kelly and Sam Pilgrim-Byrne – a lesbian couple who have been advocates for the rights of gay and lesbian families and are anticipating the birth of their first daughter in September – praised the adoption. In an interview with OUTinPerth, Kelly said of same-sex parents, ‘This gay adoption comes in a week where there are 3 babies dumped in Australia. Are they doing a better job than what we could possibly do? No, we are doing just as good, if not better sometimes, than what is currently being done.’
However, not everyone agrees with the Pilgrim-Byrne’s view. One of the loudest voices in the current debate and fiercest critics of the adoption is the Australian Family Association (AFA). John Barich, AFA National Vice-President and President of the WA Branch of AFA, said, ‘With so many heterosexual couples looking for children, we don’t think it is the best practice to give it to a couple of the same-sex. That’s just not fair to the child.’
Mr. Barich said his view was supported by ‘evidence from overseas and within Australia’ as well as by the majority of Australians. When asked what he would say to people who believe that to prevent same-sex couples from adopting is discrimination, he replied, ‘Maybe, but that’s how it has been for thousands of years.’
One of the central arguments by conservative groups opposing adoptions by same sex couples is that these adoptions place gay rights before the rights of a child and that children of same sex couples do not fare as well as children of heterosexual couples.
‘We have always felt the best way of bringing up children is in a household where you have a mother and a father… We recognise that adults have wishes, but their wishes have to take account of the rights of the child,’ said the AFA’s Mr Barich.
In response to these criticisms, Attorney General McGinty said, ‘This is not about gay rights. It is about the child and making decisions about the best interests of that child. If a gay or lesbian couple are considered to be the best adoptive parents for a particular child, taking everything into account, then their sexual orientation should not be held against them or the child denied their love and support.’
The Pilgrim-Byrnes, meanwhile, believe it is the AFA who is not looking after the rights of a child. ‘Whose rights are they putting ahead of children by not allowing the same recognition and support structures for gay families? They call themselves Australian Family Association, but they are not that,’ said Sam Pilgrim-Byrne. Her partner Kelly went on to explain that while they will be recognised on the state level as parents; federally, their family will be considered a single-parent family and they will be forced to accept single-parent benefits.
With both sides of the debate claiming to have the evidence on their side, OUTinPerth asked some of the leading researchers to weigh in on the debate. Dr Charlotte Patterson, a Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia, focuses on children’s development in families. In summarizing the current state of research into same sex parenting, she told OiP that while past research has faced criticisms for relying on small, volunteer-based samples, recent studies have taken in larger, more representative samples. While more research, particularly of gay male couples, is still needed, the current body of evidence, in her opinion, suggests ‘development seems to proceed in a very similar way to development of other kids. That’s true across a wide range of aspects of development.’
She went on to say, ‘To help kids who have lesbians and gay parents we need to create more policies that support their family relationships. We need to support them and protect them like we do for other kids.’
Dr. Paul D. Hastings, an Associate Professor at Concordia University in Canada, researched and released a report this year entitled Children’s Development of Social Competence Across Family Types. The report reviewed the scientific literature and studies of same sex and opposite sex parented families. In a written statement to OUTinPerth, Dr. Hastings said:
‘Several dozen good studies, published in respected journals, have shown that the parenting skills of same-sex couples are just as good as those of opposite-sex couples, and children raised by same-sex couples, and children raised by same-sex parents fare just as well as children raised by opposite sex parents.
‘Arguing that adoption by same-sex couples puts gay rights before the rights of the child is specious. Children have the right to be raised by loving, committed parents who will provide for their emotional and physical needs and nurture their healthy development. Adoptive gay, lesbian and straight parents are all able to provide needy children with good families and homes.’
