Same Sex Couples to Adopt?

Amber Robinson

Gay couples in NSW are one step closer to achieving equality in adoption laws, after a State Government parliamentary inquiry has narrowly recommended a reform to current laws.

Under current legislation, same sex couples can foster a child but not adopt a child. A homosexual can adopt a child, but not a couple.

The inquiry’s chairwoman, Labor MP Christine Robertson, said same sex-parents should be assessed on the same terms as anyone else – on whether they were suitable to adopt a child.

She said the committee found reforming laws to allow same-sex adoptions would “ensure the best interests of children” were met, increasing the pool of applications from which the most appropriate parents for a child were selected.

The state government is now under pressure to act on the findings. Here’s hoping they do, the current laws make no sense at all.

[Source]