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Kirk view on adoption law and equalities legislation

The following is a statement from Morag Mylne, convener of the Church of Scotland’s Church and Society Council, on the debate on Adoption Law and Equalities Legislation:

"What is currently being discussed in Westminster has already been discussed in Scotland – when most people seemed content with the verbal assurance given by Scottish Ministers that the working practices of Catholic adoption agencies would not need to change. The point that Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor is making is not that single-sex couples should not be allowed to adopt; he is simply arguing that Catholic adoption agencies should not be legally required to do other than their present practice, of referring them on to other agencies.

"When discussions were taking place in Scotland, the Church of Scotland contribution was to say, firstly, that no one has a 'right' to adopt. Adoption is for the benefit of children (of whom there is an alarming number awaiting adoptive parents), not somehow to fulfil the lives of the adults concerned. Secondly the Church, through its Church and Society Council, argued that there is a long and arduous vetting process for anyone before they are allowed to adopt – and we believe that those given this task should be trusted to be professional. A single-sex couple should not be excluded from that process, but should be assessed on the same grounds as anyone else – grounds that will include the stability and commitment of the relationship.

"In relation therefore to the current parliamentary discussion, we are content with the general principle of the anti-discrimination legislation and content that the Catholic Church be allowed to continue to work in its own traditional way. This is because we maintain that the interests of children are paramount – and it is not in their interests either that people should be turned away before even being assessed as adoptive parents, or that agencies doing good work in the field of adoption should close down."

Ends

24 January 2007

nr/08/01/07

Note to news desks

More information about the Church's view on adoption is available on our Church in society pages here.

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