Should gays and lesbians be able to adopt?

Unlike countries such as Spain and the Netherlands, Switzerland forbids same-sex couples from adopting a child – a right guaranteed to married heterosexuals or single people. For gay rights organisations, this situation is discriminatory and violates children’s rights. What do you think?

Although they are not officially recognised in law, so-called rainbow families are a fact of life in Switzerland. Up to 30,000 children are estimated to be growing up with two parents of the same sex. Should the state acknowledge and legitimise this societal evolution? Or, as opponents of gay adoption demand, should it send a clear message that a child can be raised only by a man and a woman?