Making the Decision: Factors Influencing Gay Men's Choice of an Adoption Path

Contact Between Birth and Adoptive Families During the First Year Post-Placement: Perspectives of Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Parents

“…The benefits of openness and honesty about one’s sexual orientation may extend into the adoption process; indeed, Goldberg et al (2011) found that LG adults pursuing adoption strongly desired to be honest about their sexual identity and relationship status in the adoption process. A desire for honesty and openness also appears to be a motivation for pursuing open adoption specifically, among LG parents (Downing, Richardson, Kinkler, & Goldberg, 2009; Goldberg, Downing, & Sauck, 2007). Thus, theories about the importance of coming out and disclosing one’s sexual identity suggest that LG adoptive parents might be especially likely to value openness with their child about their adoption and birth family.…”

“…Moreover, issues about legal finalization of adoption may be particularly salient among LG parents, who may face legal and practical barriers to becoming adoptive parents (Appell, 2011). Many LG prospective parents report encountering stigma and discrimination during the adoption process (e.g., from adoption agency professionals who are undereducated about parenting by sexual minority adults as well as policies and laws governing adoption by same-sex couples; Downing, Richardson, Kinkler, & Goldberg, 2009; Downs & James, 2006; Goldberg, Downing, & Sauck, 2007; Matthews & Cramer, 2006; Ryan & Whitlock, 2007; Ryan, 2000). Thus, LG parents could be particularly motivated to legally finalize their child’s adoption as a result of societal stigma about LG people and their families.…”

How Law Shapes Experiences of Parenthood for Same-Sex Couples

“…For same-sex couples becoming parents via surrogacy, the legal landscape is just as varied (Mitchell & Green, 2007), as some states allow a couple to be legally recognized prior to the birth as the intended parents and most states do not recognize surrogacy contracts (Markens, 2007). In terms of international adoption, some countries require intended parents be heterosexual and married and others have policies that make it difficult for openly gay men and lesbians to adopt (Briggs, 2012;Downing, Richardson, Kinkler, & Goldberg, 2009). In sum, a number of legal barriers exist for each route to becoming a parent and these barriers vary widely across state context.…”

“…Surrogacy is very expensive and is therefore often only available to the most economically advantaged couples (Beckman & Harvey, 2005). Domestic adoption is often more affordable than international adoption (Downing et al, 2009), and many same-sex couples opt for public adoptions because of financial considerations (Hansen & Hansen, 2006).…”

Gay fathers’ reproductive journeys and parenting experiences: a review of research

“…Golombok and colleagues compared measures of parental well-being and child adjustment between heterosexual, lesbian and gay adoptive families 20. Their findings suggest that parental well-being was more positive in gay families as compared to heterosexual families, and that adoptive children in heterosexual families displayed higher levels of externalising problems than did children in gay families.…”