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Allie O’Day 

Professor Knapp 

English Comp I

18 Feb.  2021 

Same Sex Couples Should Be Able to Adopt 

Have you ever met a couple that wanted a child so badly, but they could not conceive one

themselves? Many heterosexual couples struggle to conceive children, but those couples have

other options like having medical procedures done to improve fertility, surrogacy, or adoption.

But, for homosexual couples they have limited options. They can choose between surrogacy or

adoption; the price of surrogacy is not cheap it ranges from $15,000- $100,000. Adoption is the

most reasonable option for most couples to have a child. Yet, it is not easy for same sex couples

to adopt a child because others do not support their lifestyle. Other people's personal opinions

should not get in the way of a child's chance of getting adopted. It should not matter who you

love or who you are in a relationship with, if that couple has the ability to give a foster kid a

family and a home, they should be able to. Same sex couples should have the right, privilege,

and opportunity to adopt a child. Regardless of the parents' gender, children are in no way

affected by their parental upbringing when it applies to their overall developmental success. 

While examining the reasonings behind the refusal of same-sex adoption, many of these

reasons point to the Christianity religion and practices. However, according to the New

International Version Bible it states that love is love regardless of the gender identity or sexual

preference of his or her partner. The bible states “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it

does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it

keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth” (1
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Corinthians 13).  The bible does not say that love is only between a man and a woman. It is not a

sin to love someone of the same gender. The act of loving someone is not a sin in the bible's eyes

but acting on a sexual desire is. Love does not have a gender. When looking up the definition of

love it says nothing about how it is only between a man and a woman. Love is an “attraction

based on sexual desire: affection and tenderness felt by lovers'' (Love). Nothing says that love is

just between two people of different genders. Just because others feel like same sex couples do

not have the right to love the same gender, does not mean they do not love each other. Same sex

couples should be able to adopt children, the sexual preferences of the child’s parents do not

matter. Love is love and a homosexual couple can love a child just as much as a heterosexual

couple can. 

While researching for this essay I came across a study that was done on kids that were

adopted by same sex couples. In the study Charlotte J. Patterson says “New research shows that

children adopted into lesbian and gay families are as well-adjusted as children adopted by

heterosexual parents, and follow similar patterns of gender development,” (Munsey,C). The

children from a same sex couple household were mentally and physically developing the same as

the kids in a “normal” household. The people running the study came to this conclusion by

giving the teachers or caregivers of the children a checklist for the kids’ behaviors. Proving that

it does not affect the child mentally or physically by having same sex parents.  Not many studies

have been done on same sex couples adopting children specifically. However, numerous studies

have been done on if heterosexual parents are better than homosexual parents.  Almost all these

studies conclude that heterosexual parents are not better than homosexual parents, and that it

does not change the kid mentally or physically. These articles show that children who are

adopted by homosexual parents, are no different than someone with heterosexual parents.  
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Letting same sex couples adopt children, would help limit the number of children in

foster care. Why are we making kids sit in foster care when there is homosexual couples wanting

to adopt?  According to The AFCARS Report, “approximately 400,000 children are in foster care

at any given time. About 135,000 children are adopted in the United States each year.”  That

means roughly 265,000 kids are not getting adopted each year.  Yes, there might be other factors

that go into why kids are not getting adopted. But if homosexual couples were allowed to adopt it

would give a great number of kids good loving homes. In the LGBTQ+ community a rough

estimate of two million people is interested in adopting a child. So even if even ¼ of the

LGBTQ+ community actually adopted that would decrease the number of kids in foster care to

almost none. I’m not saying that allowing homosexuals to adopt will solve all the problems with

foster care and save every kid. But I am saying that homosexual couples that can and will

provide for a kid, should be able to adopt. Kids that are sitting in foster care bouncing around

from different homes, have a real chance of having a real family. Homosexual couples deserve

the right to have a family as well. Allowing same sex couples to adopt children will limit the

number of kids in foster care and will also allow the kids to have a family they did not have in

the first place.  

The opposing side does not want same sex couples to be able to adopt a child due to

several reasons. These reasons include religion, fear of the child becoming homosexual, and the

overall need for the child to have both a male and a female parent.  The opposing side related to

religion believes that same sex couples are living in sin every day and they should not be able to

adopt a child because of their biblical beliefs. This side believes marriage and/or a partnership is

between a man and a woman. Also, the religious perspective is afraid that child exposure to

homosexuality is going to make the child homosexual. There is an argument that the child is a
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mirror image of their parents. So, if the child is a mirror image of the parents there is a chance of

the child becoming homosexual. Since mirror imaging is a behavior and homosexuality is not a

behavior the child will not become gay. The last argument regarding religion concludes that

children need both a male and a female role model.  Males can teach kids different things that

females cannot. The opposing side believes these are good enough reasons to keep homosexual

couples from adopting. Others cannot say the argument about religion is wrong, nobody’s

religious beliefs are wrong. But we should not be pushing other religions' beliefs on undeveloped

children.   

Many people that disagree with same sex couples adopting children, argue that a

child needs a male and a female in their life.  This is simply not true. Studies show that a child

raised by same sex couples do as well as a child raised by heterosexual couples (Taylor &

Francis). Kids with same sex parents are no different. The gender of your parents does not

matter.  Another reason people do not like the idea of same sex couples adopting is because it

goes against their religion. The bible says being homosexual and becoming intimate with a

person of the same gender is a sin. Others also fear that because a homosexual is raising a child

means that that child will end up a homosexual. Kids that were raised in ‘normal’ homes with

heterosexual parents, come out as gay all the time. The child is not taught to be gay they are just

gay. Therefore, same sex couples should be able to adopt. Conclusively, after evaluating all

reasonings for why some individuals disapprove of same-sex adoption, these reasonings are

solely based upon ones religious beliefs, definition of love, and effects on children themselves.

However, what and who defines love and marriage? For all people, love is different. Love can be

shown in many different ways and one human alone should not define what love is. Therefore,
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when considering same-sex adoption not one quote, verse, or definition should play into factor

what type of parent one will be. 

Work Cited 

1 Corinthians 13: NIV Bible: YouVersion. www.bible.com/bible/111/1CO.13.NIV. 

Adopted Children Thrive in Same-Sex Households, Study Shows.

www.apa.org/monitor/2010/10/adopted-children. 

Children’s bureau. The AFCARS Report. 10 August. 2018

“A Meta-Analysis of Developmental Outcomes for Children of Same-Sex and Heterosexual Parents.”

Taylor & Francis, Alicia Crowl, Soyeon Ahn, Jean Baker, 11 Oct. 2008,

www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15504280802177615. 

Love. www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/love?src=search-dict-hed.