Same sex couples now make up almost ten per cent of those who adopt children in England, new figures have revealed.
As many as 450 children were adopted by gay couples in the year ending 31 March. This was revealed by the Department for Education’s (DfE) latest statistics on adoptions and looked after children. Although this number does not represent an increase from the previous year, the total number of adoptions has declined. As a result same sex couples now account for 9.6 per cent of adoptions, rather than just over eight per cent as they did last year.
In 2012 only 160 children in England were adopted by same sex couples. At the time this represented just five per cent of all adoptions, so these latest figures show a dramatic rise in just four years.
The split between gay men and lesbian couples adopting was quite even, the DfE figures show. Of the 450 gay couples who adopted a child, 250 of them were male and 200 were female.
Tor Docherty is the Chief Executive of New Family Social, a charity which supports adoption by members of the LGBT community. She said it was “heartening to see that agencies continue to consider and successfully place children for adoption with same-sex couples”. When it comes to finding permanent homes, “the needs of the child remain paramount” so it was important that “agencies consider the full range of potential parents” she added.
Last month, a Christian couple made national headlines when they objected to the possibility of a gay couple adopting their two foster children. The foster parents planned to adopt the children themselves but were denied. This refusal happened because the local authority was concerned their attitude towards gay parents could have a “detrimental” effect on the children. The couple insisted they were not homophobic but, as Christians, believed that “a child needs a mother and a father”.
However, last year researchers from universities in the United States found that gay parents are every bit as capable as straight parents. They made this claim following an analysis of around 19,000 academic studies and articles on the subject over more than 30 years.
Read the DfE figures here.
“The couple insisted they were not homophobic but, as Christians, believed that “a child needs a mother and a father”.
i couldnt agree more on this point. every child needs a mother and a father. the people making lifetime decisions for these children clearly do not take into consideration what impact Gay parents may have on them as they grow up and how they may be taunted at school when other kids find out they have Gay parents. this could potentially be a ticking time bomb of psychological problems in later life. do the adoption agencies care, i doubt it. we the people need to take a stand on this before it gets out of control in the same way islamic muslims are building Mosques all over the UK and trying to dictate to UK law with their Sharia Law.
“last year researchers from universities in the United States found that gay parents are every bit as capable as straight parents.”
OMG!, these small minded so-called experts just dont get it do they!. its not about how good Gay parents can care for children its about the impact on those children by not having a mother and a father as nature intended. lets get back to nature for the sake of these children!.
im not homophobic but ive been cornered a number of times by Gay people trying to ram it down my throat that its perfectly normal to be Gay.
my response usually always stops them in their tracks with no further argument .
i tell them if its so normal to be Gay then how come if all the Gay people were taken to an island they would be completely extinct within 100 yrs because they cant reproduce. that is not what nature intended and so it cant be that normal can it.