Jack & Jill or Jack & Bill

An increasing number of same-sex couples are raising children in Australia. Although there are a number of ways for same-sex couples to become parents – including heterosexual intercourse and assisted conception procedures – adoption is denied to same-sex couples in many Australian jurisdictions. For same-sex couples, adoption (either in the form of non-relative adoption or step-parent/second parent adoption) is a crucial and significant avenue for family formation. Like heterosexual couples, same-sex couples decide to adopt children for numerous reasons including medical infertility, social infertility, and (most importantly) the desire to provide a child with a loving and nurturing environment. For male same-sex couples, who have limited alternatives for achieving parentage, the adoption process presents a particularly attractive pathway to parenting. There is now a large body of research that indicates that same-sex couples parent as well as heterosexual couples. Once it is accepted that same-sex couples are suitable parents, there is no reason to discriminate against them in relation to the way they become parents

Developmental psychology · Infertility · Pregnancy · Same sex · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Psychology · Reproductive Health and Technologies · Social Psychology

• Influences of Family Structure and Parental Conflict on Children's Well-Being

  Elizabeth A Vandewater, Jennifer E Lansford•Family Relations•1998

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