JENNIFER COATS 37
"To boys of a certain age lesbians are just fantasies they're not real people who are gonna raise a family"
(Asked not to be pictured)
Ms Coats adopted two boys Jamie 11 and Tim 13 two years ago. Originally from California she has lived in Weybridge with her partner Cathy for the last ten years.
CLICK ON THE AUDIO TO HEAR HER THOUGHTS.
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ADOPTION
What?
Adoption is the process of legally taking on someone else's child and bringing him or her up as your own.
Who?
According to Adoption Uk until 2002 it was typically married couples or singletons who adopted, but since the Adoption and Children’s Act was passed it has meant that unmarried couples (including same sex couples) were able to adopt too.
As a footnote among same-sex couples gay men tend to opt for adoption more than women as they cannot conceive by IVF for obvious biological reasons.
Why?
It is particularly attractive to gay men who cannot have a biological link to a child without a surrogate. It can be morally fulfilling as you are helping children in need and you can raise them as your own.
Why not?
Although no definitive study has been made – according to Stonewall the “feeling” among some of the gay community is that same-sex applicants were only offered “hard to place” children who may have severe disabilities or behavioural problems.