Hess’ logic wrong when examining life experiences

The Feb. 1 article titled “Fathers and mothers” in the IDS saddens me. While one could refute the article from a theological, scientific or social perspective, I will simply tell a story. My aunt and her life partner (whom I wish I could legally refer to as my aunt) have adopted three children right here in the good old USA. They did not choose easy children either. All three were adopted from inner-city environments, the offspring of parents who faced more hardships in a single week than the author of the previously mentioned article has faced his entire lifetime. One of the children is even autistic.\nNow I ask those who have read that column, which of the following circumstances is better for a young child? A life in a downtown ghetto influenced by drug and gang culture, a childhood with a single parent who didn’t want the child in the first place, or a home with everything essential to a child provided in abundance, especially love? Now, I think any two parents are capable of raising a child that they wanted and they devote their life to caring about. Single parents are also capable. Children will grow and develop with love from their guardians.\nParents who do not want a child to love would obviously choose not to adopt a child. “Two men dedicated to having sex with each other” would obviously not adopt a child. I do not see how one gets by with advocating that heterosexual parents will do a better job than homosexual parents. Many heterosexual parents will divorce, never get married in the first place or simply neglect the child. Homosexual parents who want a child obvious will obviously dedicate themselves (as my aunts have) to the child (rather than a dedication to sex) because of the legal battle and the hatred that they will face as a family.\nAs of now, my aunts’ oldest child is 9 and she is a perfectly normal 9-year-old. I’ll let you know if anything changes, but I wouldn’t suggest holding your breath.\nEli Major\nFreshman