To Whom It May Concern:

When women make the difficult choice of giving up their child for adoption, they do so in hopes that their child will have a better chance at life. That means receiving financial security as well as emotional stability from a new family. If a mother can make this heart wrenching choice for her child, the government and adoption agencies should only use critiera that supports a woman's wishes - that her child be placed in a safe and loving home.

Discrimination has no place in our civil society today. Prospective foster or adoptive parents should only be considered based on their ability to provide a child a loving and stable environment, not on their sexual orientation or any other discriminatory characteristic. Same sex couples can and do indeed provide children with a wonderful family life and environment as their hetero counterparts.   

Giving a family to a child a beautiful and wonderful gift and vice versa. Let's not let superficial biases destroy an opportunity to unite these two for a happy ever after.

Thank you for your time.

Tarina Keene

Alexandria, VA