Elizabeth Vega Orozco

Alexa Huerta Villegas

Jennifer Ortega
Understanding the Cultures of the World

The Cons of Same Sex Adoption

According to LifeLong Adoptions, almost 40% of all agencies and 83% of public
agencies reported making at least one adoption placement with a lesbian or gay man (LGBT
Adoption Facts). This statistic not only shows the mass amounts of same sex adoption
occurring in todays day, but it also exemplifies and foreshadows the likely negative effects to be
endured and portrayed by the adopted children. The negative effects involved in couples
practicing same sex adoption varies from health related risks, both mentally and physically,
academic and personal constraints, and the abnormal developmental social skills for adopted
children. Same sex adoption inevitably illustrates the absence in parental reliability towards the
developmental stages a child must experience and surpass with confidence.
When taking a glance at the full scope of things, the overwhelming evidence of health
related risks and outcomes associated with homosexual behavior within a homosexual couple is a
cause for concern. Research in this matter unconsciously indicates such behavior can result in
negative effects being passed on to an adopted child during its upbringing; The scientific fact is
that children's health is endangered if they are adopted into households in which the adultsas a
direct consequence of their homosexual behaviorexperience dramatically higher risks of
domestic violence, mental illness, substance abuse, life-threatening disease, and premature death
by up to 20 years (Glenn). Gay men have an increased chance in contracting sexually
transmitted diseases, due to their promiscuity and choice of lifestyle, developing anal cancer, and
have a decreased life expectancy than straight men do (Glenn); According to the an article
selected by the Zenit International News Agency, Domestic violence is more common among
same-sex couples. Men with same-sex attractions are more likely to become infected with a
STD, including HIV, hepatitis or HPV, which can lead to cancer. Thus, several studies suggest
that 50% of men who have sex with men will become HIV positive before age 50. ("Dangers of

Elizabeth Vega Orozco

Alexa Huerta Villegas
Jennifer Ortega
Understanding the Cultures of the World

Same-Sex Couples Adopting Children."). As for women, a similar idea applies; women are more
likely to develop bacterial vaginosis, breast and ovarian cancer, and are more prone to develop
psychiatric disorders. Moreover, a commonality between both gay and lesbian couples is that
they have been statistically proven to abuse of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco by a higher
percentage than heterosexually-involved couples (Glenn). Without a doubt, the given
information is bound to affect an adopted child due to the increased negative risks that his/her
parents partake in on a daily basis due to their chosen sexual orientation. In other words, there is
no stable and no safe home for a child when such an excessive amount of risks become his/her
environment. Is it really smart to allow a child to be raised by parents who have a greater risk of
dying prematurely or of being mathematically two times more likely to be infectious for having
chosen homosexual orientation as opposed to a heterosexual orientation?
In addition to health related risks, higher grade retentions and personal constraints can be
associated with children of same sex couples versus the typical children of heterosexual married
couples. This can be a product of many factors, one being that, the legal privileges of marriage
are numerous and have direct consequences for the well-being of children (Rosenfeld).
Adopted children of same-sex parents face the deprivation of either a mother or father and the
strain of living in an unstable and unnatural situation, according to a researcher in the field.
("Dangers of Same-Sex Couples Adopting Children."). Other factors being that a theory suggests
that biological parents tend to invest more on their child, and the large majority of children of
same-sex couples were children from previous heterosexual relationships. Thus, implying that
the adopted child experienced a divorce or attachment-related trauma, which collected research
depicts as a traumatic situation for the child. With regards to the personal development, it is said
that a crucial component of the normal development and adequate level of self-esteem in

Elizabeth Vega Orozco

Alexa Huerta Villegas
Jennifer Ortega
Understanding the Cultures of the World

children is denoted by grade retention. Students who are held back once tend to have a much
higher risk of not graduating high school, leading to low earnings, high unemployment, and low
self-esteem that can further correlate to higher mortality rates for those having been raised in a
same-sex parental setting (Rosenfeld).
Based on a survey conducted to young adults, young adults whose mothers had a samesex relationship tended to fare worse than their peers in intact biological families on 24 of the 40
outcomes examined. For example, they were far more likely to report being sexually victimized,
to be on welfare, or to be currently unemployed. With respect to young adults whose fathers had
a same-sex relationship, the gradient of contemplated suicide, having sexually transmitted
infections, or having been forced to have sex against their will increases or is significantly more
likely (Kim). Also, A recent article in the New York Times Magazine on Ry and Cadesisters
now 22 and 24 years old who were born to a female couplereveals the many ways in which the
experiment has not workedAt one point, Ry was "repulsed" by heterosexual relations and
afraid of the "sexist soul-losing domain of oppression" she associated with male-female
relationships. At 16 she wrote, "I cannot understand or relate to men because I am so immersed
in gay culture and unfamiliar with what it is to have a straight relationship." Ry's mothers
encouraged her to have sex with her boyfriend, which she did, but at the same time she felt
conflicted about having "sex with a man, which meant 'growing up and away from my mothers.
Since then she has become more confident with men, but still feels as though she is "passing" for
straight. ("Dangers of Same-Sex Couples Adopting Children."). All of these findings can
conclude that this adoption practice can negatively affect a young adult by causing abnormal
development in social skills, which could lead to violent experiences due to not knowing how to
address a sexual situation. It also affects the ability to communicate during normal duties

Elizabeth Vega Orozco

Alexa Huerta Villegas
Jennifer Ortega
Understanding the Cultures of the World

such as searching for employment and reaching out for educational information on sexually
transmitted infections.
The sense of reliability that homosexual parents give to their adopted children is far
slighter than one would hope for such child in question. There are far too many possible factors
that can play a negative role in a childs life, whether he or she result in being affected by them
or not. The risk in mental health, academic and personal constraints, and negative effect in
developmental social skills increase; and therefore, an overall decrease in the successful
upbringing of a child has come as a result of same sex adoption. Without a doubt, same sex
adoption inevitably illustrates the absence in parental reliability towards the developmental
stages a child must experience and surpass with confidence. In essence, as Dr. Mark Regnerus
concluded, the stable, two-parent biological married model [is] the far more common and
accomplished workhorse of the American household, and stillaccording to the data, at least
the safest place for a kid (Kim).

Works Cited
"Dangers of Same-Sex Couples Adopting Children." Dangers of Same-Sex Couples Adopting
Children. Zenit International News Agency, 4 Nov. 2004. Web. 16 Oct. 2015.
Glenn, Gary. "Gays and Lesbians Should Not Be Allowed to Adopt." Gays and Lesbians Should Not
Be Allowed to Adopt (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.

Elizabeth Vega Orozco

Alexa Huerta Villegas
Jennifer Ortega
Understanding the Cultures of the World
Kim, Christine, and Jennifer Marshall. "New Research on Children of Same-Sex Parents Suggests
Differences Matter." The Daily Signal. N.p., 11 June 2012. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.
<http://dailysignal.com/2012/06/11/new-research-on-children-of-same-sex-parents-suggestsdifferences-matter/>.

"LGBT Adoption Facts." LGBT Adoption Facts. LifeLong Adoptions, 2015. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.lifelongadoptions.com/lgbt-adoption/lgbt-adoption-facts>.
ROSENFELD, MICHAEL J. "Nontraditional Families and Childhood Progress Through School."
Demography. Population Association of America, Aug. 2010. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3000058/>.