Support mounts to exempt Catholic agencies from gay adoptions

London, England, Jan 29, 2007 / 08:30 am

There is mounting support among members of Parliament to grant Catholic adoption agencies an exemption from proposed legislation that would give same-sex couples the right to adopt children.

According to a report from The Guardian, divisions over plans to force Catholic adoption agencies to consider same-sex couples as parents spread to the Conservatives yesterday.

Conservative David Davis, the shadow home secretary, said he would "almost certainly" vote for Catholic agencies to be exempted from the law, a view reportedly shared by an increasing segment of Conservative Party.

"It's a challenge between the very proper right of gays to be protected from discrimination [and] the very proper right of children to have the best available adoption service,” Davis was quoted as saying. “These are very, very badly damaged children and, actually, the Catholic Adoption Society is the best to deal with that."

Andrew Tyrie, the shadow attorney general, has said Catholic agencies must be allowed to continue their work. And Edward Leigh, a senior Conservative backbencher, said the government's likely decision was "an appalling prospect for religious liberties".

While Conservative leader David Cameron supports gay adoption, he has said he will give his MPs a free vote on the bill next month. Labour MPs will not be given a free vote.

Both the Catholic and Anglican archbishops spoke in favor of the exemption last week.