NSW's only Protestant Christian adoption agency has urged state MPs to vote against a private members bill which would allow the adoption of children by same-sex couples.
Anglicare Sydney is one of only three accredited non-Government adoption agencies in NSW handling domestic adoptions.
Anglicare chief Executive Peter Kell said the agency has 45 years of frontline experience in the provision of adoption services in NSW.
Mr Kell says the current Adoption Act considers the best interests of the child to be paramount.
Consequenty, he says, there are several reasons Anglicare is urging MP's on both sides of the house to use their conscience votes to reject the amendments put forward by Clover Moore.
Mr Kell says "Men and women complement each other in their parenting roles as a result of their inherent physical, psychological and emotional attributes. Optimal care for children consists of being in a family with both a mother and father. Adoptive children should not be denied this opportunity."
The Anglicare CEO has also refuted suggestions that there is a double standard in same sex couples being permitted to foster but not adopt. " Adoption is a permanent situation whereas fostering is not." he says. "Therefore a cautious approach is required where the decision is irreversible, as would be the case in putting the child in an unusual family configuration."
Anglicare has written to all state MP's, giving 11 reasons why the change should be rejected including what it says is a lack of well founded, unambiguous research evidence.
Mr Kell says a number of other law changes regarding same-sex couples involve access to welfare and financial benefits.
"The Adoption Act" Mr Kell says "is fundamentally different to these other issues, since adoption exists as a service for the child, not adults and although respectful of the needs of birth parents and of those who wish to adopt, is necessarily and profoundly child focussed."
The bill is due to come before State Parliament in late August.
