20 August, 2024

Homosexual adoption

Like most conservatives, the adoption of chilren by male homosexual couples disturbs me. I have a strong feeling that all children deserve both a mother and father.

But that is to a degree ignoring rather a lot of reality. Many children grow up to be normal adults even though they have grown up with one parent only. And who is to say that a homosexual parent cannot be loving?

I was discussing that matter with a woman much younger than I am and found that she had no difficulty with children being brought up by homosexual parents. Her basic point is that anything can be bought these days, includng good childcare.

And I was reminded of the fact that the British aristocracy traditionally did not bring up their own children... that was dedicated to a nanny. And strong affectionate ties developed and remained between the children concerned and their nanny,

Winston Churchill was one of those. He was very supportive of his nanny into her old age and she had a lifelong devotion to him.

And step-parents and their stepchildren have often been known to develop and retain strong affectionate feelings beween them. I was such a stepfather myself to three children who grew up to be very well-functioning adults.

So I think we have to let rule us the big conservative principle that each case depends on its individual merits. It is only where there is evidence of some distress in the child that we are warranted to intervene. Parenting can be succesful under many different parental arrangements -- and excludng one arrangeent is dogmatic and can be tyrannical. -- JR

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