Children are not a social experiment

Today The Mail on Sunday reports of another case where a ten-year-old Catholic boy is being placed in the care of gay foster parents against the wishes of his religious mother.

It follows the case of the other children - a brother and sister - who were "adopted" by a gay couple against the wishes of their mother and despite the fact that their grandparents - her mother - offered to house the children.

Naturally, none of the children can be named for their own protection and perish the though not so that we cannot question the social workers and their motives.

If homosexual couple of either sex want to have children, they can get the turkey baster out and there is nothing we can do. But it is the duty of councils to look after the children in their care and that means not placing them with gay couples.

The best place to raise children is in a loving, stable home with a mother and a father. That is the ideal and yes we know that not every home is ideal and that not every home is loving or stable. Nonetheless, that is what we as a society should be aiming for.

We do not know whether children raised in a home where both lovers are gay will turn out to be normal - and yes gay people are normal, too - and well-adjusted members of society. And there's the rub - placing children in homes with gay people is a social experiment. It may work or it may not.

We have recently heard much, too much, about the "rights" of children. Isn't the most fundamental right of a child not to be part of a social experiment where no one knows the outcome?