T&T has to be prepared to deal with issues, such as adoption of children by same sex couples and similar issues, says Independent Senator Joy Abdul-Mohan.
She made the point in the Senate yesterday during debate on amendments to the Adoption of the Children’s Bill. This seeks to regulate adoption procedures, making it easier to adopt a child.
Saying she supported the intent of the bill, she, however, noted clauses in some US states, like Virginia, where private adoption and foster care agencies may refuse to be involved in any child placement that “would violate the agency’s written religious or moral convictions or policies.”
That has been criticised in some parts of the US as an attempt to allow adoption agencies to refuse services to same sex couples.
Abdul-Mohan said whether that applied to same sex couples “remained to be seen.”
She said T&T over the next decade would need constitutional changes through laws and the courts for the country to deal with issues that could arise regrading people who could not adopt children on the basis of equity.
She asked how T&T compared with the global situation concerning same sex couples. Abdul Mohan said T&T had to be prepared since “we can’t sweep it under the carpet.”
She also called for the bill to ensure criminal background checks on prospective parents. She said sometimes even before people got married that should be done as “things are getting worse and worse.”
Abdul-Mohan said the law should also examine the suitability of parents and the mental health of people seeking to be parents of adoptees.
Checks should also be done on the biological children of would-be parents, she added.
”It can’t be only about a prospective parents’ financial state,” she said.
Local Government Minister Marlene Coudray, in her contribution, agreed certain aspects of the law needed clarification.
She said amendments would always be made as the need for changes arose. She said the situation had not, however, advanced to dealing with adoption by same sex couples “but we never know in future what happens.”