CHALLENGES FACED BY GAY COUPLES

• Gay couples face many problems in society.
• Adopting a child is a big problem for gay people in many countries.
• HelloDr offers solutions as countermeasures to the mental agony that gay couples often face.

Parenthood is a blessing that married couples enjoy. However, gay couples can't have children. Although today's society is becoming more accommodating towards gay people, people and governments in different parts of the world do not allow gay couples to adopt children. Therefore, the only option to experience and enjoy parenthood in a gay marriage is to adopt a child.

 

Following are the challenges faced by gay couples when they plan to adopt a child:

1. Lack of a mother/father figure in the life of a child:

A child needs both mother and father for a perfect upbringing. However, a child adopted by a gay couple can have either two mothers or two fathers. Many times, gay couples are also concerned about this issue. However, there have been researches showing that children raised by LGBT couples experienced no difference in emotional difficulties compared to those raised by straight (heterosexual) couples. In many American cities, single-parenting and same-sex parenting are considered the "new normal," especially when it involves little children. HelloDr can connect gay couples with counselors who can guide young gay couples about the right ways to prepare for parenthood. Regarding advice and counsel from an expert about preparing for parenthood, gay couples are no different from straight (heterosexual) couples.

2. Discriminatory adoption laws:

Unfortunately, many states in the USA and countries in different parts of the world have yet to understand that the rights of LGBT couples need to be protected as real gay people are gay by birth. Many agencies use the term "religious freedom" as a reason/excuse to turn away LGBT couples who wish to adopt a child. Although gay couples need a lawyer more than a counselor in this situation, the mental agony in attempts to prove the ability to be a good parent and mentally stable can be tiresome, especially when the manager of the adoption agency is a rigid and orthodox, believing all gay people to be mentally abnormal.

HelloDr can connect gay couples with motivational speakers who can help gay people to focus on their lives, careers, and goals, telling their minds that their sexual orientation is not a problem but a feature given by nature. There are counselors, too, who can counsel gay couples and convince them to lead a normal life and prepare for parenthood.

3. Trouble finding the right adoption agency:

Many adoption agencies, especially those operating based on religious faith, often turn away LGBTQ couples. Many faith-based adoption agencies turn away LGBT couples without caring for the rights provided to gay and straight couples by law. Before gay couples pursue this path, they need to make sure that they can find an agency that would not care about their sexual orientation.

4. Difficulties in adopting children outside the U.S.

Although the United States has no laws prohibiting LGBT couples from adopting children, many countries in West Asia or Africa do not allow gay couples to adopt children. Therefore, gay couples wishing to adopt foreign children need to know the adoption laws of those countries.

5. Concerns regarding child sexual abuse:

Many people oppose adoption rights for gay couples, saying that children adopted by such teams might be sexually exploited. This concern might be valid but barring gay people from adopting children is not a solution because there have been instances where children adopted by straight couples were sexually abused by their adoptive parents. This issue can be overcome only by doing a strict background check within legal limits to determine whether the couple is fit to adopt a child. If a background check happens and if the gay couple is interrogated by authorities, staying strong mentally can be tough. HelloDr has psychologists, meditation experts, and motivational speakers who can guide gay couples to strengthen their minds and keep calm. 

6. Prejudice faced by children adopted by gay couples:

Children adopted by gay couples can indeed face harassment by unruly students when they go to school. However, this issue can be addressed by implementing those measures meant to save children of straight couples from violence by bullies. HelloDr offers counseling services to free the mind from the shackles of depressive thoughts that bullying can cause.  

7. Accusations of brainwashing children:

Often it is believed that gay couples can brainwash their children into believing in the perfection of the gay lifestyle, and the children might grow up to be gay. This is not true because there are gay children born to straight couples. For all the social issues that can cause mental agony to gay couples, HelloDr does offer services that can reduce the pain of suffering. Feel free to contact HelloDr and let us help you figure out the required service.