THE HOMOSEXUAL ADOPTION BILL WAS REJECTED

On Wednesday October 16 at the Houses of Parliament the bill to allow unmarried couples including homosexuals and lesbians to adopt children was defeated by the House of Lords. An alliance of Conservative peers and 20 Labour rebels wiped out key parts of the Adoption and Children Bill leaving only married couples and single people eligible to adopt.

This bill began life as the personal mission of the Prime Minister Tony Blair to get the 5,000 children currently in care and in need of adoption under the care of couples. However, an amendment tabled by the Conservative front bench were carried by 196 votes to 162, a majority of 34, after hours of heated debate.

Opponents of adoption by homosexuals and cohabiting couples were led by Baroness O'Cathain who said she was taking on the mantle of the Christian family rights campaigner, the late Baroness Young. One point Lady O'Cathain argued was that children adopted by homosexuals would be mocked at school. She also mentioned that they could be at risk from their new parents. She was backed by other Christian speakers. Will the Tory party back its peers in the House of Lords, or will such opposition damage the image of their leader who is promoting a modernising programme? What seems to be the future of this bill is a ping-pong situation with the House of Commons and its large Labour majority supporting homosexual adoption and sending the bill back to the House of Lords who will turn it down again.