prop 8 and adoption

on sunday, i usually try and post an article about adoption, religion and/or infertility.

today is no exception.
although today it has a little bit of a political flavor, a topic i usually try to avoid as i despise politics and all the arguing it brings with it. drives me crazy.

it seems that so much in this election is about adoption for me. i can say with certainty that it will be the determining factor for whom i vote.

california scares me to death right now.
what if prop 8 does not pass?
what does that mean for my friends hoping to adopt and hoping to place in california?
what does that mean for religious adoption agencies?
as san fransisco's mayor, gavin newsom says,
"as california goes, so goes the rest of the nation."
(watch this. ahhhh. he gives me the creeps.)
it's scary.

today at church our bishop announced a new effort in our community here in utah to make calls to california residents asking for help to pass prop 8. (read about it here.) i signed up whole-heartedly ...which is a big deal, people, as i do not have any free time.
it means that much to me.

i am terrified of what it will mean for adoption.

opponents of proposition 8 say that adoption will not be affected if prop 8 gets voted down, that it will not change California’s adoption laws, or increase the potential for lawsuits against adoption agencies [religious or secular] ...to which i have to say, um ...it already has.
it is already happening.

adoption.com and parentprofiles.com have already been under attack in california. they lost the legal battle and now their services are not available to california couples hoping to adopt or birth parents hoping to place in california. to read about that from the Family Equality Council (who are pleased about the defeat) click here.

i attended the national board meeting on friday for the Families Supporting Adoption. prop 8 came up. if it does not pass, it will be very near impossible for LDSFS to continue in the adoption world. already in massachusetts, LDSFS is getting pressure to close its doors as they do not offer services to homosexual couples. you may be thinking, "well, LDSFS doesn't offer services to heterosexual couples who are not endowed, sealed and active members of the Church." that is true and that is under attack as well.

here is what you need to know about prop 8 from an adoption standpoint:

Religious adoption agencies will be challenged by government agencies to give up their long-held right to place children only in homes with both a mother and a father. Catholic Charities in Boston already closed its doors in Massachusetts (after 100 years of practice) because courts legalized same-sex marriage there.

i also came across this document.
i was especially interested in talking point 9 which states,

"Expanding the definition of marriage by including homosexual
relationships adds to the continued disregard for marriage’s ultimate
purpose. Where it has been legalized, same-sex marriage decreases
the total number of marriages while increasing illegitimacy. Nine
European nations have had same-sex marriage since the early 90’s—
and just 2 percent of same-sex couples in these countries ever marry,
while there has been 46 percent increase in out-of-wedlock births."

vote yes on prop 8!