John McCain Doesn't "Believe In" Gay Parents

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:16:00 GMT

One would think that John McCain would be the most likely candidate to understand the importance of making unwanted babies into wanted ones, since he and his wife have an adopted daughter. But his support of adoption only goes as far as his ideology—or his political interests—will allow. He recently stated, “I think that we’ve proven that both parents are important in the success of a family so, no, I don't believe in gay adoption.”

I’m so glad that writer Terrence Heath, who recently adopted a baby with his husband, thoroughly took McCain to task so I don’t have to. In an elegant essay on Huffington Post, Heath points to the arguments raised in the California Supreme Court decision to allow same-sex marriage, including the assertion that adoptive parents are just as “adept” at raising children as biological parents—and to argue that gay parents shouldn’t adopt is a slippery slope to being anti-adoption. Heath includes stats from numerous studies showing that gay parents are just as likely as straight parents to raise healthy, happy kids.

Lastly, Heath points to the tragedy of three-year-old Turner Jordan Nelson, whose father killed him by throwing him over a bridge in the midst of a nasty custody battle. According to the thinking of the anti-gay parent faction (including McCain), this father is a “real" parent because he is a straight man who “created” his son through vaginal intercourse, while Heath and his husband, a loving couple committed to always doing what's best for their child, are not.

Fortunately for unwanted babies everywhere, parents like Heath exist whether McCain believes in them or not.

Photo: aglp.org

http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/strollerderby/archive/2008/07/03/mrs-and-mrs-degeneres-and-a-male-perspective-on-the-name-game.aspx

Got Any Extra Babies? Mail 'Em Down the "Hatch"!

Karen Murphy — Sat, 12 May 2007 11:53:00 GMT

A hospital in Japan opened the country's first and only drop box for unwanted babies recently, despite government protest. Billed as a "last resort" for desperate parents, the hatch opens into an incubated space that trips an alarm, alerting hospital personnel that there's a baby inside. It's hoped that the new "Baby Hatch" will help discourage abortions and babies abandoned in public places. Babies dropped off in the hatch will be cared for initially by hospital personnel and then made available for adoption.

I think this a wonderful idea. Why is it that only Germany and South Africa already have these? Everyone knows that there can be times, for some parents, when the prospect of caring for a baby is simply too overwhelming, frightening, or inappropriate. Why cast judgment on these parents (who undoubtedly carry enough guilt about it on their own) when the babies can find loving and wonderful homes with parents who want and will care for them?

Strollerderby : unwanted babies

John McCain Doesn't "Believe In" Gay Parents

Got Any Extra Babies? Mail 'Em Down the "Hatch"!