Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 68:

In page 81, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following:"Amendment of section 14 of Principal Act

106.Section 14 of the Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (c):

"(d) request from the birth mother or guardian her or his preference, if any, for the category of applicant as outlined under section 33(1)(a)(i), 33(1)(a)(i)(ia), 33(1)(a)(i)(ib), 33(1)(a)(ii) and 33(1)(a)(iii) to which the child shall be placed.".".

This is about amending section 14 of the principal Act. We are talking about adoption. It is basically the same point I am making with amendment No. 70, which proposes that section 20(4) of the principal Act be amended by the insertion of a paragraph after paragraph (b) relating to the relevant stated preference, if any, indicated under section 14(d). I am requesting that a birth mother or birth parents who are in the process of placing their child for adoption would act with informed consent.That is a key principle of all adoption placements. The amendment requests that an adoption order be made in accordance with the wishes of the birth mother around the type of family into which her child would be placed. This is not a question of being discriminatory in any shape or form. It is important that, in the long and thorough adoption assessment, all family types be discussed and presented to the birth mother and, if he is part of the process, the birth father, for example, a married man and woman, a man and woman cohabiting, two women cohabiting, two men cohabiting, a single man or a single woman. The types would not necessarily be presented in any hierarchical order. The State would not make the decision. Rather, the birth mother, acting for her most precious gift, the child whom she is giving up in what are invariably difficult circumstances, should be satisfied that her wishes were met.

Given the Minister's background in this area, she knows that birth mothers or parents are normally encouraged in the assessment process to have a say in how their children will be raised. When Senator Power raised genuine issues yesterday about donor-assisted human reproduction, DAHR, and the wishes of a family, we laughed about how it could be as simple as wanting a child to be raised with music or sport. In the course of the assessment, it is vital that family types be discussed and that the wishes and preferences, if any, of birth mothers or birth parents concerning the family types into which their children will be placed be noted. The types would not be discussed in any specific hierarchical order, but the offering would be made to the birth mothers or birth couples.

My next point is an important consideration. It would be of major assistance to the adoptive family if, when a child is seven or 14 years of age and asks why he or she is being raised by a single woman, two women, two men or whatever it is, the adoptive parents can say that it was the wish of the child's birth mother or that she had no objection to it. I have discussed this point with a number of gay friends, including two gay men who got married last September. The one of them whom I know best told me about their making a decision at Christmas on whether to have children. I shared the concerns that I am raising now. He asked whether I would like to see a range of family type options during the assessment process. I said, "Yes". He thought that it would be reasonable so long as all options were presented to the birth mother or birth parents, whichever was the case, at the time of assessment. This is my request. It is a sensitive issue, namely, the key principle of informed consent. I ask for the support of the House and the Minister.