I take it all back. All those criticisms of Tony Blair’s incompetence, all those jokes of electile dysfunction in New Labour’s reactionary and impotent policymaking – all of them, forgotten. At last the Government makes a law that will break down the barriers of discrimination. At last homosexuals will not be denied goods or services on grounds of sexual orientation. At last: homosexual couples will not be denied the right to adopt.
All right, so New Labour has still passed its fair share of awful legislation (ID cards, anyone?). But the Equality Act is a beacon of hope, forbidding schools, businesses and miscellaneous organisations from refusing services on the basis of age, race, religion, disability, gender or – if and when MPs approve the final third of the bill – sexual orientation. Only the Catholic Church’s hostility to gay couples adopting children stood in the way of progress – and now the Government has denied Catholic adoption agencies an exemption from these anti-discrimination laws. It is brilliant news.
There will, of course, be a 21-month period for these agencies to prepare for change, but this is only postponing the inevitable. The delay is not an action-pretence trial period, and it is not time allowed for the Government to do a U-turn. By the end of 2008, Catholic adoption agencies will be forced to consider gay couples as potential parents, and until then they have a statutory duty to refer homosexual couples to other agencies.
This 21-month transition period (arguably a little long; still, David Cameron wants four years) could become a countdown to oblivion. A spokesperson for the Catholic Church in Scotland, speaking between bites of the hand feeding him, said the postponement was “meaningless”. He supported several agencies’ views that they would sooner fold than “act contrary to conscience”, even by the close of 2008. Suddenly the question arises: provided the Government funded neutral replacements, would the closure of Catholic adoption agencies be such a bad thing? After all, we are trying to prevent discrimination; isn’t the mere existence of a religiously prejudiced adoption agency discriminatory enough?
When belief causes them to discriminate against those in need, public services are failing to serve the public. Closing faith-led adoption agencies would inevitably provoke accusations of aggressive secularism, but child welfare is not an issue that should be affected by religious debate. The most important thing concerning adoption is whether the prospective couple is fit to provide a stable and loving family life for the child. If an adoption agency believes a gay couple is inherently inferior to a heterosexual couple (or even a single parent) in raising an infant, the agency is not fit to practise – regardless of faith.
This is why I do not agree with those who argue that if their religion decrees it, a Catholic organisation has the right to reject as parents whoever they damn well like (or rather, dislike). True, there is a concern that in forcing them to choose between change and annihilation, which is essentially what the lack of exemption clause does, the law is actively discriminating against religious groups in the same way they themselves are discriminating against homosexual couples. But adapting legislation to fit outdated Catholic dogma simply because ‘it’s what they believe in’ – said as if atheists don’t believe in anything – can only root our society in the past.
Furthermore, giving religious groups an effective power of veto is dangerous, especially considering how influential they are already (hence the beautiful irony of hearing a Catholic spokesman complain that Blair sided with homosexuality over Catholicism in order to “placate a powerful lobby group”). In refusing an exemption permitting Catholic agencies to reject gay adoption candidates, New Labour has – surprisingly – shown some backbone.
I don’t like saying it, but Tony Blair has done A Good Thing. He even stimulated some political debate in my house, before we were told to stop talking over Superman Returns. The fact of the matter is this: if adoption agencies will not consider potentially good candidates purely because of their beliefs, they are not doing their job – and neither are faith schools. Perhaps the Government should legislate against them too. But then we can’t expect miracles.
