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Spanish Judge Put on Trial for "Obstructing" Homosexual Adoption

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

MURCIA, Spain, November 26, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Spanish judge from the province of Murcia is being tried for obtsructing the adoption of a child by her mother's lesbian lover.

The judge, Fernando Ferrin Calamita, acknowledges that he delayed ruling on the case, but "only to protect the child." 

"Children need a father and a mother," Calamita told the media yesterday during the first day of the trial.  "A man and a woman complement each other.  Two women don't."

The judge also expressed fears that turning a child over to a lesbian couple would make the child "a human guinea pig."

The charges against Calamita stem from his insistence on obtaining an assessment of the likely psychological impact of the adoption of the child.  Although court-appointed psychologists issued two psychological analyses of the women, Vanesa de las Heras and Susana Meseguer, Calamita claims they did not investigate the likely impact on the child, Candela.

The reports, said Calamita at the trial, "didn't go to the heart of the matter.  The Psychosocial Department didn't tell me what the interest of the child was. What the General Family Directorate said was that the couple had a good relationship." However, he added, "no one has clarified to me if this adoption would or would not be harmful to the child."

In addition to the assessment, Calamita also sought a ruling from the nation's Constitutional Tribunal on the constitutionality of same-sex adoption, which further delayed the case.  The hearings lasted a total of two years.  Calamita never ruled in the case.

The potential of psychological harm to children arising from homosexual adoption was highlighted by Spanish doctors in their report on the subject, "It's Not the Same: Report on Child Development with Same Sex Couples," published in 2005 (see original in Spanish at http://www.narth.com/docs/noesigual3.pdf). In the report the authors lament the lack of rigorous studies on the issue, but observe that existing studies indicate that children adopted by same-sex couples "more frequently suffer from psychological problems, in particular: low self esteem, stress, insecurity regarding their future life in relationships and having children," and "sexual identity disruption" among other effects.

During the hearing yesterday, which took place before the Supreme Court of the Province of Murcia, Calamita stated that he had nothing against the lesbian pair, but noted that "as a family judge, I had to look out for the interests of the child, because both the adopting mother and the biological mother are legal adults and free to do what they want."  He also told the court that no one has the right to adopt, "whatever sex they may be, it is the one being adopted who has the right."  Audience members in the hearing applauded at that moment, but were silenced by the presiding judge.
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Calamita has stated that if returned to the bench he would conduct future cases in an identical manner.

Although family values were once strong in historically Catholic Spain, the country has become increasingly liberal in recent decades.  Today, Spain is one of only three countries in Europe that has legalized same-sex “marriage" and has one of the continent's most liberal abortion laws.  With average family sizes well below replacement level, the population is being slowly supplanted by foreign-born residents, both legal and illegal.

As a result of his pro-family approach, Calamita has been barred from the bench since February of this year without pay.  If convicted he could pay a fine equivalent to nine months of Spain's minimum wage and be prohibited from functioning as a judge for 18 years.

The trial is scheduled to conclude on December 3rd, when final arguments will be given.

Contact Information:

Embassy of Spain in the United States
2375 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20037
Telephone: (202) 452-0100
Fax: (202) 833-5670
E-mail:
URL: http://www.spainemb.org/ingles/indexing.htm

Embassy of Spain in Canada
74 Stanley Avenue, Toronto, Ottawa, K1M 1P4, Canada
Phone:
+1-613-7472252, +1-613-7477293, +1-613-7471143, +1-613-7476181
Fax:
+1-613-7441224
Email:

Website URL:
http://www.embaspain.ca

Embassy of Spain in the United Kingdom

39 Chesham Place, SW1X 8SB, London, United Kingdom
Phone:
+44-20-72355555
Fax:
+44-20-72595392
Email:

Related Links:

It's Not the Same: Report on Child Development with Same Sex Couples (Spanish)
http://www.narth.com/docs/noesigual3.pdf

Related LifeSiteNews Coverage:

Activist Miami Judge Defies Court Precedent and Rules against Homosexual Adoption Ban
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/nov/08112511.html

Experts Worldwide Find Gay Adoption Harmful for Children
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/may/05053106.html

Belgians March to Protect Children from Homosexual Adoption
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/sep/05090607.html

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