REHUGO 3

Carina Banci

Mr. Soeth

English AP 3

February 16, 2011
Rehugo Analysis-Government

A. articles read.
B. "Gay Men and Women Should Not Be Allowed To Adopt Children" by Glenn T. Stanton; "Gays and Lesbians Should Be Allowed to Adopt" by American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
C. a)Stanton is stating that there is no evidence stating that homosexuals make better parents so it is implied that caseworkers and agencies shouldn't bother to ask them to adopt because there is no legitimate reason proving that they have better parenting skills. Though the same-sex parent experiment is just starting, he says that we can learn from the divorce project that adopting is not an easy thing.
b)ACLU is arguing that banning homosexuals to adopt will hinder the search for adoptive parents; this will "not promote good placements" or protect the children, who should be the main focus. ACLU insists that adoptive agencies shouldn't let sexuality get in the way of receiving applicants; they should instead test their applicants' abilities to nurture a child.
D. a) Con
1. Logos is shown when Stanton listed facts. "Most researchers now agree that together these studies support the notion that, on average, children do best when raised by their two married, biological parents." Stanton explains that research confirms "that children do best when raised by their own married mothers and fathers".
2. Stanton states that even though we dont have data from a same-sex parents experiment, we do have the divorce experiment to conclude that just having stepfamilies aren't really preferable; "...children of stepfamilies have as many behavioral and emotional problems as the children of single-parent families, and possibly more..." Stanton thinks that not even a stepfamily is sufficient enough to mimic a biological family so same-sex parents have no chance either to make a child problem-free.
b) Pro
1. A national study was conducted to inform the government what is happening to young adults when they are discharged from foster care. "...within two years after discharge, only 54% had completed high school, fewer than half were employed, 60% of the young women had given birth to a child, 25% had been homeless, and 30% were receiving public assistance." ACLU has concluded that these effects happened because these adults didnt grow up with a sufficient family. They didnt grow up with a sufficient family because agencies are having trouble finding applicants to host them. A homosexual, ACLU argued, has been excluded to become an applicant because of his or her sexual orientation and hence resulted into having one less person to help out even though they want to.
2. "The Child welfare professionals agree that the way to ensure healthy, positive placements is to do what every state child welfare agency currently does: subject every applicant to a rigorous evaluation process." ACLU stated that applicants should be tested on their ability to take care of a child and not be judged by their race or sexual orientation. This is emphasized by the fact (ethos).
E. Rhetorical Strategies
a) "So, we must ask, 'Is it wise to enter the same-sex family experiment with a generation of children so we can learn how it will turn out?'" The use of rhetorical questions makes the reader ponder more on the thoughts of Stanton in his article.
b) The word "family" is highlighted throughout ACLU's article; repetition helps emphasize the point the organization was getting at, which in this case was that family is something that is really important because it helps a kid grow.
F. Although Stanton brought a good point that stepfamilies in general will have a hard time trying to get their new child engaged with them because children do well with their biological parents, I felt his essay more biased. Even though there was no evidence that same-sex parents did better than heterosexual parents, there was no evidence at all claiming that homosexuals were worse. Step-parents are a little different than foster parents. I understand that facts shown that some children can't handle having only one real parent but what does that have to do with homosexuals? The title "Gay Men and Women Should Not Be Allowed To Adopt Children" makes it seem as if only them can't handle foster children at all. That declaration is a bit biased to me because the term "homosexuals" was thrown in the article a bit randomly since the essay provided no evidence against homosexuals; this article would've made more sense it if stated that no one really can make a child feel better because they have no biological family.

MLA Citations:
Stanton, Glenn T. "Gay Men and Women Should Not Be Allowed To Adopt Children." Issues in Adoption. Ed. William Dudley. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Current Controversies. Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 16 Feb. 2011.

"Gays and Lesbians Should Be Allowed to Adopt." Are Adoption Policies Fair? Ed. Amanda Hiber. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. At Issue. Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 16 Feb. 2011.