National

Poles against gay adoption

12.07.2009 15:13

A new survey out this weekend in the pages of the Rzeczpospolita daily states that up to 87 percent of Poles are against the right for homosexual couples to adopt children.

The GfK poll conducted last week among Poles shows that exactly three quarters of respondents do not agree to same sex marriage, with only 14 percent of Poles having no objection to the legal status of such unions.

In response to the figures, Professor Zdzisław Krasnodębski from Bremen University says “it shows that Poland still has a society drawn on traditional values, and is not succumbing to Europe-wide trends.”

With high figures showing the negative attitude of Poles towards legal homosexual unions, Tomasz Szypuła from the Campaign against Homophobia muses that they are the result of the fear of Poles towards different values and ideas. “Many Poles do not even have any gay or lesbian acquaintances, so their opinion on homosexuals is based on what they see in the media,” Mr. Szypuła sighs.

One of the reasons that the results are so negative towards same-sex unions is explained by social psychologist Dr. Norbert Maliszewski from Warsaw University, who believes that the increasing amount of gay-rights marches held in Polish cities has had a reverse effect on Polish society, as reflected by the poll.

Currently same-sex marriages are permitted in Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium. Homosexual couples in Sweden, Spain and Great Britain (among others) are given the opportunity to adopt children. (jb)

Source: Rzeczpospolita

Comments: 22 Add new comment

Sam Spade

12/07/2009 15:40:48

Gay adoption is incredibly cruel to the adopted children who must endure severe criticism and abuse from their peers especially young children in the lower grades of school. Two parents of the same sex is not normal.
It also has a grave effect on the biological parents that for some reason must voluntarily give up their children or are made to by the state because of their alcohol, drug or even physical abuse of their children.
In this respect gay people are only very self-centered in their belief that it makes them more tolerated. The reverse is usually the case.

Greg

12/07/2009 20:23:51

Poland is such a backward country.

Maciej Skiba

12/07/2009 23:12:44

Backward? Why because we are unwilling to experiment with our children like you are being all to happy to do for the sake of making it seem like your progressing? I suggest you actually read some unbiased studies before you call us backward.

John

12/07/2009 23:23:44

Gay adoption has been legal in my country for some years now (since 2003, I live in Iceland). This has not created problems so far, but it gives gay people oppurtunity to have children from parents who, for economical or social reasons, are unable to bring up their children. In many years Lech Walesa and his peers in Solidarnosc, were fighting for the freedom of the people. What freedom? The situation of freedom has worsen in some aspects after the communism. F.ex. abortion was made illegal. This makes many womens make an illegal abortion at unskilled "abortion makers" (it is cheap), who can threaten their life. In matter of freedom Poland IS a backward country. Mr. Lech Walesa wasn't fighting for the freedom of the people, more and less he was fighting for the freedom of the Catholic church to brainwash and secure that Poland would still be a strong fortress of faith.

Maciej Skiba

12/07/2009 23:51:15

Thats a little unfair John, lets take abortion for example. Abortion is legal in case of rape, incest or serious injury to mother. What more do you want? A women has the freedom not to have to have an abortion, all she has to do is wear protection when having sex and she will not have to resort to having one. From Poland's point of view, the mother has rights and so does the fetus. But in certain circumstances the three I mentioned above the mother's rights trump the rights of the fetus. You consider abortion to be about freedom, tell me what freedom is granted to the fetus in unrestricted abortion? In Poland's laws both the women has freedom (she can avoid an abortion, protected sex) and the fetus has freedom.

As far as gay adoption, recent studies have shown that there is a difference between children growing up in homosexual and heterosexual families. In addition the recent studies have shown the biased present in previous studies that show their is no difference between the two. Either way let's for the sake of argument say that the studies are conflicted and we really don't know which study is correct. Is that enough for you to say we can experiment with children? seeing as we have a lack of information?

Maciej Skiba

13/07/2009 06:23:24

I just like to say one more thing, lets say Poland decided to change its laws to allow abortion in all cases in all trimesters. Would that give us the right to call you a backwards country since most countries restrict there abortion to only the first trimester?

I can already see what your going to say, allowing babies to be killed in the third trimester for unsound reasons is barbaric. Well, it that wrong for Poles to think that killing babies in any trimester is barbaric if its not for a good reason like rape, incest, or injury to mother?

I hope you get the picture of what i am trying to say. Just because you have a more liberal outlook on certain issues doesn't mean you can call us backwards. Especially if that progressiveness you espouse intrudes on the rights of the fetus.

Now I am not saying this is an easy issue, and whatever the west does that's there choice, but I don't consider you barbaric for your beliefs and you shouldn't consider us backwards because of ours.

John

13/07/2009 10:50:06

I get your point Maciej. Tell me, if a 35 year old unemployed woman who can not have baby because of economical circumstances has protected sex with a condom, but the condom gets teared or slips off (happends in 2% of all sex cases involving condoms) and gets pregnant, I think it is her choice to abort the pregnancy. And about abortion laws read: http://www.polskieradio.pl/thenews/News/?id=105857

Is this good? This is very sad aspect because of strict abortion law.

Maciej Skiba

13/07/2009 11:10:02

Good point, however we can take steps to prevent even that, for example using a condom together with birth control can prevent that from occurring (not to mention also the morning after pill). The chances that birth control, a condom breaking, the morning after pill not working and having that occur to an unemployed single female are astronomical. I would say a million to one if not greater.

So lets crunch the numbers. There are what 4 million unemployed Polish women? and the chances of that occurring are one in a million? that means that this would only happen to 4 women in Poland. Which those four children can be put up for adoption. There has got to be more than 4 couples in Poland that can't concieve a child and would like to adopt.

Maciej Skiba

13/07/2009 11:33:36

John I completely respect your position. You are worried that a child will be brought up in an environment where he's unwanted and/or in an environment where he won't be properly cared for.

My position is that these unwanted children can be easily prevented (through safe sex), and for those that aren't prevented there is many different options we can take without resorting to abortion.

Like I said these aren't easy issues, so I hold no judgement against a person who thinks otherwise and I hope you would agree?

Maciej Skiba

13/07/2009 11:37:13

Oh one more thing, what is your position on a women who loses her job in her third trimester or decides she no longer wants the baby? We have to draw the line somewhere do we not? We just choose to draw it in different places.

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