RT Article
T1 Are the Kids Alright? Rawls, Adoption, and Gay Parents
JF Ethical theory and moral practice
VO 16
IS 5
SP 969
OP 982
A1 Reed, Ryan
LA English
YR 2013
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1785697757
AB Scholars have extensively debated the family’s place within liberalism, generally, and specific attention and critique has been given to the family in Rawls’ work. What has received less focus are the requirements of parents in a Rawlsian polity and, further, what those requirements might imply for the one case where states explicitly regulate the process of becoming parents: adoption. This paper seeks to discover what might be required of parents, adoptive or otherwise, in a Rawlsian social contract state. Second, it considers adoptive parent selection in light of these requirements as well as Rawls’ arguments regarding merit and fair equality of opportunity. Finally, it considers what such a merit-based selection of adoptive parents implies for the disputed rights of same-sex couples to adopt children. Further, because the question of merit in this case will hinge upon what it means to be a “fit parent,” it also draws upon relevant empirical social science studies regarding gay and lesbian parents. The paper, then, evaluates both the theoretical and empirical validity of generalized claims that same-sex couples are less fit to be parents than are heterosexual couples.
K1 Family
K1 Lesbian
K1 Gay
K1 Adoption
K1 Rawls
DO 10.1007/s10677-012-9398-8