Adoption site: no gays allowed

by Roger Sinasohn (Subscribe to Roger Sinasohn's posts) Jul 11th 2008 3:02PM

Categories: Adoption, Gay Parenting, In The News

Making the choice to adopt requires a big commitment. You really have to be prepared and know what you're getting into. It's not something that can happen by accident or in the heat of the moment. In New York, you can even get certified as "Qualified Adoptive Parents" by the New York City Surrogate Court. That's what Rosario Gennaro and Alexander Gardner did.

When they went online to register with ParentProfiles.com, a website that lists prospective adoptive parents' information, however, they ran into an unforeseen obstacle -- discrimination. You see, Adoption Profiles, LLC, the company that runs the website, limits profiles to "Qualifying Husband and Wife Couples".

The same company chose to stop doing business in California rather than take on the state's antidiscrimination laws after being sued in 2004. Now they may have to give up New York as well -- Lambda Legal, a national, non-profit, civil rights organization, has filed, on behalf of Gennaro and Gardner, a discrimination complaint with the New York attorney general's office.

It's a shame that someone would let their prejudice get in the way of finding a loving home for a child that needs one. "We are committed partners who can provide a loving home for the child," says Gennaro. It's too bad that Adoption Profiles won't let a child into that loving home.

Source

Comments (13)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Karen 7-11-2008 @ 4:50PM

Is parentprofiles.com a private business? If so, and they choose to feature only husband/wife couples, what business is it of anyone else to challenge that?

Certainly the birth mother should have the option of choosing what type of family she wants her baby placed in, and this site focuses on husband/wife couples.

Rather than impose their belief system on others, who clearly aren't interested, why not start your own website?

I mean...what if it was only African American couples? ...or lesbian parents? Would that be a problem? This is just a way of breaking down the search for what birth mother's want. This site is clear in what they market to birth mothers - male/female families.

Why should it be a list of ALL couples that want a baby? I think it can be any segment of the population it wants.

Maggie Vink 7-11-2008 @ 5:49PM

It's, unfortunately, not uncommon. Many adoption agencies and sites like the one you mentioned have policies limiting the type of people they'll represent. When I was attempting to adopt internationally I worked through one agency in my state. After my international adoption fell through, I switched to domestic adoption. My agency expressed their regret, but they had to drop me as a client at that time. It's their policy to not represent single women (or men) for domestic adoptions.

I was annoyed, but not surprised. I went to a more accepting and ultimately better agency.

My son has been home for over and year now.

C.B. 7-11-2008 @ 8:44PM

That is wrong. Why is being "gay" wrong? A man can love another man, a woman can love another woman, it really isn't a big deal. How do you know we aren't in the wrong for liking the opposite gender? Who says there is anything wrong with it? Most people don't choose to be what most call gay, and the ones who do were probably just trying to fit in to the "norm", well fuck the norm, and do what is right for you. Babies can grow up just fine being adopted out to ANYONE. I have a cousin who gave her baby up for adoption to a "gay" woman, and now that baby has a better life than my cousin could have given her!

Judgement and discrimination is so stupid! We are in 2008, and we are still doing this, SERIOUSLY!?

jc 7-12-2008 @ 12:34AM

If being gay is so right--why aren't there any gay animals??

C.B. 7-12-2008 @ 7:21AM

Because animals only have sex for reproduction, where humans mostly do it for fun and enjoyment!

Uly 7-12-2008 @ 11:07AM

...

There *are* gay animals, JC. This is a phenomenon that has been extensively documented in the past several decades, among nearly *all* animals.

Bluesrains 7-12-2008 @ 2:13AM

I dont think its right to discriminate. A gay couple is no different than a straight couple.
Its two people who love each other. I think its a shame that there is any other opinion about it.
I saw two men raising a daughter on TV recently.
And bless them, they took a troubled teen! It was hard work to bring this girl around, but you should have seen how happy she is now and her parents, love her dearly! she just calls them both "DAD" no problem!!!

pbhj 7-14-2008 @ 4:31PM

>>> "A gay couple is no different than a straight couple."

That's clearly false otherwise there wouldn't be different words. I suppose you think there is no difference between men and women too?

What was the program?

Leonardo 7-12-2008 @ 12:15AM

In her comment Karen wrote, "Why should it be a list of ALL couples that want a baby? I think it can be any segment of the population it wants. "

Here's the problem, denying services to/refusing to do business with a segment of society on the basis of sexual orientation is illegal in the state of New York.

Karen, that's like "Why can't a coffee shop refuse to seat black customers? The owners should be able to seat any segment of the population it wants." The reason that you don't discriminate against certain segments of society is that it's illegal and because it's wrong.

Also, if this adoption agency is funded, to any extent, through state funds, that funding is contingent upon complaince with the state's anti-discrimination clause.

Karen 7-12-2008 @ 10:08AM

No it is not the same as having a coffee shop that refuses to serve black customers. It is the same as having a shop that only sells coffee and people who only want tea insisting that the coffee shop sell tea. This is a listing of male/female couples looking to adopt. It is a resource for women to help find the type of family THEY want for their child. They can choose to have their child placed with any couple they want, and this is just a listing. If the mother only wants coffee..that is her business. If she wants tea..she can utilize another service.

I wasn't passing any judgement on gay couples adopting. Just on the gay agenda of forcing their beliefs on everyone else. This has nothing to do with whether or not gay couples can adopt, it only has to do with a business that chooses to list male/female couples to parents. There is a huge difference.

And it appears this is a private business. However, even if it is accepting some state or federal funding, I do not see this as discriminatory.

Lilith 7-12-2008 @ 1:39AM

jc, I think you should do some research on gay animals. For your information there are over 450 species that display homosexual behaviors and yet humans are the only one that demonstrate hate. Some animals even change sex throughout their lives. So do not go around lying and thinking you're smart, cause you're not. Being gay is right!

Barbara Neff 7-31-2008 @ 12:27PM

Judging fitness for parenting by the genders of the couples is fallacy. Adoption facilitating companies are, I think, trying to bend to the perceived values of their customers, particulary prospective birth parents. If enough pregnant people looking to place their newborns for adoption specifically stated they were open to same gender couples raising their children, I suspect the about-face on the part of many adoption companies would be astonishingly fast.

casey 8-03-2008 @ 8:43PM

i think that we should all just get over it.
love is love no matter who you are or what gender you are.
all things happen for a reason..right?
then obliously they arent mistakingly gay.
let them be normal and live lives as normal people do, adoption included!