raising godzillas

Two books dealing with becoming parents

Two of the books I have finished this weekend pertain to becoming parents. The Right to be Parents by Carlos A Ball details the challenges that LGBT parents face in both becoming parents and maintaining their parental rights. I think it's a valuable read not just for those of us who already support LGBT rights, but for those who are not sure about the issue. I believe one thing we all share is the desire to see children live in and stay in stable, loving homes, and these homes are often torn apart by laws that are against LGBT parents. Making sure that LGBT parents have the right to foster and adopt also opens up many more homes to children who desperately need a stable home.

Population: Opposing Viewpoints looks at varying views on population's environmental effects, the role of education, government intervention, and immigration's effect on population. I have a moderate viewpoint on this issue: I don't dismiss out of hand the "carrying capacity" theory (the Earth can only hold so many) but I believe much of the misery in our world right now is caused by an unequal distribution of resources we have. I oppose government controls on population but believe in education and the free distribution of contraceptives, including surgical sterilization (pursuant to that, but not touched on in the book, I think doctors should NOT deny a patient sterilization on the basis of age, or having none or only one child. any able minded adult should be able to consent to surgical sterilization) On the other hand, I also support those parents who chose large families, especially as I believe that in a developed country, the parents who choose that will be so rare as to not truly impact population rates. I believe in promoting legal immigration of hard working people.

posted by gojirama @ 6:29 PM