Christian Democrats discuss same-sex adoption stance

A branch of the Christian Democrats in Skåne in the south of Sweden, has made a u-turn on same-sex adoption and is motioning for the party to change its policy at its annual conference in the summer.

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“We said no to same-sex adoption because research in the field was inconclusive, and because a number of important authorities were against. Since then, these authorities have changed their view, and we have new research to look into,“ local politician Daniel Sturesson told the Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) daily.

When the Swedish Riksdag passed the same-sex adoption bill in 2002, the Christian Democrats were in staunch opposition.

But according to Sturesson the world has changed and it is not reasonable to hold on to old opinions "for old habits sake".

In a motion to this summer’s party conference, which the district branch of the party has supported, Sturesson wants the policy to be updated to reflect the times.

He is referring to new research in a study based on children growing up with two mothers, the "US National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study: Psychological Adjustment of 17-Year-Old Adolescents", by US doctors Nanette Gartrell and Henny Bos.

“Children of single sex parents are not falling behind developmentally or psychologically compared to children with parents of different sexes," he explained to the newspaper.

"The most important issue for our party is what is best for the children, so the logical consequence is that we re-evaluate our standpoint."

Sturesson also thinks that the party’s attitude to these issues is contradictory, as they have said yes to single parents’ rights to adopt.

However, a heated debate is expected, as there are differing opinions within the party.

“A child needs a mother and a father, that is my opinion,“ said Yvonne Andersson to SvD.

That the party is in favour of single parent adoption is something she is concerned about, she told SvD.

“It is an inconsistency I would find hard to tolerate in the long run."

Andersson furthermore wants the party to look into the question of LGBT-adoptions and take into consideration how the situation evolves.

“But I see no reason to change our values,” she told the newspaper.