December 21, 2006: According to front page story in The New York Times yesterday, the country that brought us Tiananmen Square is putting strict restrictions on who may adopt their orphans, one of which will severely limit LGBT adoptions. This is from 365Gay.com:

The Chinese government is preparing to bar gays from overseas from adopting Chinese children under new guidelines about to be made official according to US private adoption agencies.

The government has not announced the changes but the US agencies, which specialize in foreign adoptions said Wednesday they were informed of the move by government officials.

Under the changes people who are unmarried, over 50, or obese would be barred from adopting.

One American agency said about 25 percent of its adoptions were of Chinese children, but the agency did not say how many of those were by gay prospective parents.

The changes in the system were revealed by Adoption International Mission and Families Thru International Adoption.

While many American lesbians wishing to have children use in vitro fertilization gay men usually adopt, and many have chosen children from China.

Of course, if equal marriage existed in this country, LGBT married couples could apply and see what happens. As it is, I wonder how an application from a gay married couple from MA would be received? My guess is not well - I believe that China has shown a negative inclination towards LGBT adoptions in the past. But then again, the country isn’t exactly a leader in civil rights:

The situation of human rights in the People’s Republic of China has been criticized by various sources, including other nations – particularly Western democracies – as well as international organizations, as being poor in many respects. Past human rights issues include the Great Leap Forward, a policy that caused 20-30 million Chinese to die of starvation, and the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, when 400-2000 protestors were killed and 7000 to 10000 were injured.

But they’re worried about LGBT people raising children they don’t want:

Although the Chinese government argues that this policy is necessary to stop overpopulation, China’s birth control policy, known widely as the One-Child Policy, is seen as morally objectionable by many foreign observers, as well as some Chinese. Such critics argue that it contributes to female infanticide, abandonment and sex selective abortions. These are believed to be relatively commonplace in some areas of the country, despite being illegal and punishable by fines and jail time [15]. This is thought to have been a significant contribution to the gender imbalance in mainland China, where there is a 118 to 100 ratio of male to female children reported, although underreported female births may reduce this figure. Forced abortions and sterilizations have also been reported

LGBT people who are raising children from China are giving love and opportunity to children who deserve every chance they have for happiness. Too bad the Chinese government wants to stop that.

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