Ms Justine Quinn:

My understanding is that this is not the approach that has been followed in other jurisdictions that have considered the issue very carefully, such as the United Kingdom. Other jurisdictions have not opted for such an approach. There are various reasons - first, the absence of any evidence of harm. That has been very well established in social science research. There is also the issue of the legal framework. The European Convention on Human Rights does not allow for distinctions to be made between prospective adoptive parents on the basis of sexual orientation. It would not be something that the legislature could do while maintaining consistency with convention law.