Christian couple prevented from adopting foster children over ‘homophobic’ views
By Will Stroude
A married Christian couple have been prevented from adopting their foster children after learning that a gay couple intended to adopt them. after expressing the view that the children must be raised be a “mummy and daddy” instead of a same-sex couple.
The couple’s application to adopt their two young foster children was rejected by social services on the grounds that they had expressed “concerning” opinions regarding same-sex relationships after learning that the children could be raised by a gay couple, reports The Sunday Times.
Christian groups have been quick to criticise the decision, with Chief Executive of the Christian Legal Centre, Andrea Williams, saying: “This couple’s viewpoint is lawful and mainstream”.
According to social workers, after learning that a gay couple also hoped to adopt the children and would be required to visit the Christian couple’s home, the pair “expressed a degree of shock and [they] asked if this was a ‘joke’.”
Two days later, the husband and wife applied to adopt the children themselves, but their application was rejected by the council, who said their views could be “detrimental to the long-term needs of the children”, who may or may not turn out to be LGBT.
In a statement, the husband and wife, who are seeking further legal advice, said: “We love everyone (regardless of sexual orientation) and we love the children and believe that they would benefit from the foundation offered by a mother and a father.
“The decision… appears discriminatory to us and not related to the children’s needs. The children love us: we love them. All the reports show that we are a loving, caring and stable family. What more could a child need?”
Asked how he would react if one of the children came out as gay, the husband added: “It is hard to accept, but we would accept it.”
Same-sex couples have had the right to adopt in England and Wales since 2005, under the Adoption and Children Act 2002. Same-sex adoption was also legalised in Scotland in 2009 and Northern Ireland in 2013.
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