Taylor Ann Lawhead
Professor Brown
English 1B
15 April 2013
Ethics Paper Rough Draft
Usually
when parents decide to place their child up for adoption, it is due to the fact
that they are unable to raise them because of financial issues or that the
parents are too young and are not mentally capable of raising the child. In
2012 there were over 9,000 in the US, many of which were due to the reasons of
finance issues or mental ability of bringing up a child. In early 2013 a South
Carolina couple decided to place their child up for adoption, but the reason
for doing so was not ever heard of before; they were giving their 16 year old
daughter up because she was gay. These parents, the Chadwells, were the first
couple to put their child up for adoption due to their sexuality. The girl’s
parents stated that they thought about the situation and sought help from a
local church, who helped them pray for weeks, before deciding to give their
daughter to the state due to that “don’t know how to handle someone who decides
to live a lifestyle that [they] do not agree with” (Mrs. Chadwell). I believe
that the parents’ decision to give up their daughter for adoption because of
something she cannot control is very unethical.
The
definition of unethical states that it is lacking moral principles or unwilling
to adhere to proper rules of conduct; a principle of parenthood is loving the
child unconditionally. The parents in this case seem to be doing the exact
opposite of what this principle is. When this girl is placed into the
foster-care system, she will face bullying by others inside of the system,
studies show. If other parents of gay/lesbian teens see this as a way out of
handling their child’s life style, more of them will end up in foster-care or
group homes, and due to the bullying inside of the systems, they will be more
subjected to being discriminated against, becoming depressed, or even
unfortunately committing suicide.
In
survey taken in 2005 about gay bullying, it was reposted that the number two
reason they are bullied is due to their sexual orientation; number one being
their appearance. Teens are at a pivotal point in their young adult lives when
they are trying to find out who they are and who they are about to become as
adults. This is why being teased, bullied and harassed is something that could
negatively affect a person's self-esteem and view of themselves for the rest of
their life. Throughout history “homosexuality has been viewed as an illness, a
sin, an abomination, and a crime” (Uribe, 168). An example of one probable
source of this attitude is in the Bible (Leviticus 20:13), which in many
translations says that homosexuality is an abomination and is a morally
unacceptable life-style. Data shows that teens that struggle with issues of
their sexuality that do not receive the necessary health care services or
support from loved ones and from schools and community are in jeopardy of
serious emotional and social difficulties (Remafedi, 1987). . According to
recent gay bullying statistics, gay and lesbian teens are two to three times as
more likely to commit teen suicide than other youths. About 30 percent of all
completed suicides have been related to sexual identity crisis, and in
addition, the San Francisco State University Chavez Center Institute has found
that LGBTQ youth who come from a rejecting family are up to nine times more
likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. The bullying that
causes these attempts and sometimes successes at suicides can come from any
type of people, whether it be school, a rejecting family, or even a
child-welfare program where they are patiently waiting for an accepting family.
When
people think of placing their child up for adoption, they believe that they are
giving them a place to be safe and to be taken care of. This unfortunately is
not the case for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender teens that are in
the foster-care system and although changes in the mainstream attitudes have
made it a little easier for teens to ‘come out’, but it does not mean that
foster parents and child-welfare agencies have kept pace with the changing
times. The parents of the young girl that are giving up for adoption due to her
sexuality don’t understand just exactly how she will be treated in the agencies
and if she will ever get adopted but a family. The child-welfare agencies are
only as good as the foster families and many foster families refuse to take in
a gay teen. A survey was taken by Jerry Walters; vice president for foster-care
services with the Jacksonville-based boys’ home association, showing that out
of 246, only 21 said that they would be willing to take in a gay teenage; only
8.5%. These teens are facing
discrimination every day and almost all have reported verbal abuse; 70% have
been subjected to violence; and 78% have run away or have been removed from a
placement due to reasons related to their sexuality (America Bar Associates
2008 guidebook for Child-Welfare Lawyers and Judges). Cindy Watson, who directs
a center for gay youth, states that “kids question their sexuality more” and
that “the system is not a safe place” (Cherkins). These young teenagers have it
hard already due to the fact that they were most likely tormented at school and
that their families don’t accept them, but they also have to deal with being
bullied in a system where they are trying to find a new family. These teens are
trying to find a safe place to live and are instead being bullied and in some
cases run out from the only place that they have. The Chadwells might believe
that what they are doing for their daughter is the best thing for her, but they
are putting her into more harm than good but putting her up for adoption rather
than keeping her at home where she has a safe place to live.
Although
what the Chadwells are doing might seem ethically and morally right to them,
they are actually placing their daughter in danger; whether it be emotional or
physical. By wanting her to be adopted by another family and placing her in a
foster-care system, they do not realize that inside these agencies she will end
up being bullied by the others that are not gay. Gay teens are already getting
bullied more and that she is being rejected by her family will make her more
likely to become depressed and eventually maybe trying to commit suicide. This
situation is ethically wrong due to the fact that the parents should have their
child’s well-being in mind and wanting them to be safe, the opposite of what
the Chadwells are doing.
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