4 th July 2008
Adoption site anti-gay?
A gay couple in New York is suing an adoption site for not allowing them to post their adoption advert on their site.
The complaint filed at the Attorney General’s office yesterday claimed that Rosario Dawson, 40, and Alexander Gardner, 38 had experienced discrimination that broke New York State laws.
“We are committed partners who can provide a loving home for a child,” said Gennaro in a press release. “There are lots of children not being given the opportunity to be adopted into great homes.”
The married couple have been together for four years and were approved to adopt in New York city in 2007.
The website – ParentProfiles.com is owned by Adoption Media, LLC of Arizona and requires all potential adopters to be a “Qualifying husband and wife couple” meaning that same-sex couples were not eligible.
ParentProfiles would not comment on the story. A similar case in 2007 in California meant that the company chose to abandon their dealings in the state.
27th June 2008
Heinz highlights prejudices
It’s not the gay kiss but the idea of a gay parent family that’s offended people says gay rights activist Carla Toney.
Her comments come after US food giant Heinz pulled a tv commercial featuring a gay kiss after the advertising watchdog received over 200 complaints.
“The kiss was only brief whereas the set-up of the two men being around kids was what probably really shocked people” Ms Toney says.
Ms Toney was heavily involved in gay rights campaigns in the 1970s and has children herself that she raised with her lesbian partner.
The advert in question takes place in a family kitchen and shows a man dressed as a deli chef packing school lunches. The man is referred to as “mum” by the kids before sharing a kiss with the dad. As the dad leaves the house the chef is also heard calling him “sweet cheeks”.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said refused to comment on what had actually offended people but would only say that viewers found it "offensive" and "unsuitable to be seen by children".
20th June 2008
Christian fellowship say no to HFE bill.
A spokesperson for the Christian Medical Fellowship has today denounced the progress of the Human Embryology and Fertilisation act as “against the Christian will”.
The group that supports Christian doctors and medical students said “We are unhappy it has progressed this far as it is. We are strongly of the opinion that children should be born into a family headed by two parents of the opposite sex, as is the historic Christian teaching.”
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology bill is currently being analysed by a select commons committee. If that goes to plan there will be a report made and the bill will be ‘ping ponged’ between the two Houses before it may well become an Act.
Social worker Abby Toney who has recently completed a dissertation on gay parenting says “my research indicated that actually there was no evidence that supportive parenting from two guardians of the same sex cannot provide the same loving environment for children”.
Ms Toney interviewed a number of children affected by gay parenting as well as consulting academics.
Ms Toney who is herself a child of two lesbian mothers said the HFE bill was “about time” as Britain is a nation “obsessed” by the nuclear family.
13th June 2008
Gay parent pacts could spread HIV
Silent pacts between the lesbian and gay communities wanting to conceive are putting children’s health at risk says a spokesman from a prestigious Fertility Clinic.
Tim Mott from the Bridge Fertility Clinic in London Bridge says “The gay media are rife with adverts from lesbians looking for sperm donations and gay men looking for a surrogate – this means the exchange of totally unscreened sperm which has horrific implications for children’s health.”
Mr Mott blames the overly strict regulations that force couples who would rather keep a low profile, into more unofficial measures.
His comments come after Parliament passed a bill last month that says doctors should look for evidence of "supportive parenting" rather than the presence of a father figure when offering IVF. These changes he says are still insufficient:
“Even the recent changes made so that they only consider the ‘welfare of the child’ specifically for IVF couples – you wouldn’t even think to check for naturally-conceived children – it would seem ‘Orwellian’”
Email me here
Links
Stonewall Uk (the gay rights charity)
Gay surrey (local support group)
Over the rainbow (gay drop in centre in Bournemouth)
Pink Parents (national support network for LGBT FAMILIES)
HFEA (Human embryology and Fertilisation Authority)
HFE Bill (follow the bill as it's passed through parliament)
The Bridge Centre (pioneering fertility clinic in London)