An International Examination of Same-Sex Parent Adoption
![handle is hein.journals/regjil5 and id is 241 raw text is: AN INTERNATIONAL EXAMINATION OF SAME-SEX
PARENT ADOPTION
Lynne Marie Kohm, * Megan Lindsey, ** and William Catoe***
Over the past decade several European nations have actively led
the way in affording adoptive parenting rights to same-sex couples.'
Some United States [U.S.] states have followed that lead.2 What has
been the impact, if any, of this trend toward legal adoption by same-
sex parents on a nation and its population? National public policies are
generally intended to promote or sustain a nation's citizenry. Adoption
affords an avenue to care for the children of that population. What ef-
fect do same sex parental legal adoption rights have on a country and
its citizenry?
This article examines these questions in light of legal trends, facts,
and future global policy-making. It will offer a review of same-sex
parent adoption laws as promulgated in selected European nations, and
compare those trends with trends in U.S. states. These legal trends
may offer insight into future expectations on a national scale. This
article will explore the indicators, if any, which European trends may
Copyright 2007 Regent University School of Law
John Brown McCarty Professor of Family Law, Regent University School
of Law; J.D. Syracuse 1988; B.A. Albany 1980. Much of the research for this article
was provided by my two co-authors and previously by Karen M. Groen, all of whom
I extend my sincere gratitude for their superb work.
J.D. Regent University School of Law 2007; B.A. Eastern Michigan Uni-
versity 2004.
J.D. Cumberland School of Law 1988; M.Div. Regent University School
of Divinity (2007); B.A. Athens State College (1985).
1 See Kees Waaldijk, Civil Developments: Patterns of Reform in the Legal
Position of Same-Sex Partners in Europe, 17 CAN. J. FAM. L. 62 (2000) [hereinafter
Waaldijk, Civil Developments]; Kees Waaldijk, Eight Major Steps in the Legal Rec-
ognition of Homosexual Orientation. A Chronological Overview of Legislation in 45
European Countries (2006), http://athena.leidenuniv.nl/rechten/meijers/index.php3
?m=58&c=128 [hereinafter Waaldijk, Eight Major Steps] (both presenting the legal
history and strategy of same-sex parents in a partnership context).
2 David M. Cotter, Current Trends in Second-Parent Adoptions, 17 DIVORCE
LITIG. 141 (Sept. 2005) (reviewing the rise of a grander scope of adoption with the
trends in second-parent adoptions).](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/regjil5&div=11&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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An International Examination of Same-Sex Parent Adoption
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