Gay and lesbian couples have gotten the baby bug within the last decade, says a new analysis at the Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law. Within the past decade, the adoption rates for gay couples has tripled. “It’s a stratospheric increase. It’s like going from zero to 60,” said Miami attorney Elizabeth Schwartz in a statement to the Huffington Post. “I think many really dreamed of doing this but it wasn’t something they ever thought would become a reality.”
In 2000, just over 6,000 gay couples opted for adoption. Now, the number has skyrocketed to over 21,000 adoptions by gay families. Over 30,000 adopted children now live with gay couples as opposed to the 8,300 number in 2000.
States where children were most adopted by gay couples included California, New York, Massachusetts, and Texas. However, many states enact discriminatory policies against same-sex couples adoption.
“We just wanted to be treated like any other prospective parent out there. We didn’t want it to be an issue,” said one gay parent.
Florida is one state that recently stopped a ban on gay adoptions last year.
According to the Adoption Institute, 60 percent of adoption agencies in the United States accept applications from gay couples, and nearly 40 percent of U.S. adoption agencies have placed children with same-sex families.
“If one agency doesn’t serve you and you’re gay, then another agency will,” said Adam Pertman, executive director of the Adoption Institute. “You don’t need 100 percent agency participation. The bottom line is if you’re a qualified gay or lesbian in America and you want to adopt, you can.”
