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