Abstract

The present theoretical essay is based on six reports concerning same-sex couples and gay and lesbian people in order to interconnect homoparenting and the adoption of children with disabilities, through the lenses of human and social sciences in public health. The reports were interpreted in light of studies on same-sex adoption and the adoption of children with disabilities. Feminist approaches related to care and disability were also included in the interpretative perspective, operating as expressive webs of grammars of ableism. It was found that media approaches endorse the right to family formation and the adoption of children with disabilities by homoparental families, but with little critical depth on the category of disability and without highlighting support for the adoption of all adoptee profiles. Moreover, the intersections between homophobia and ableism increase discriminatory and oppressive logics, with the union of social groups considered to be “undesirable” representing a strategy of governmentality that reveals the complexity of grammars of ableism, applied to the sexual and reproductive rights of LGBTQIA+ adopters and to the fundamental rights of children and adolescents with disabilities who are available for adoption.

Key words:
Adoption; Family; Parenting; Gender; Homosexuality

Introduction

Disability and homosexuality have commonly been understood in a pejorative sense, a phenomenon recognized here and analyzed in the light of ableism¹1 Mello AG. Deficiência, incapacidade e vulnerabilidade: do capacitismo ou a preeminência capacitista e biomédica do Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa da UFSC. Cien Saude Colet 2016; 21(10):3265-3276.^,22 Moreira MC, Dias FS, Mello AG. York SW. Gramáticas do capacitismo: diálogos nas dobras entre deficiência, gênero, infância e adolescência. Cien Saude Colet 2022; 27(10):3949-3958.. An example of ableist manifestation is the understanding of disability as an imminently negative, undesirable attribute that must be avoided and corrected, an idea potentially applicable to homosexuality.

In this light, the present article assumes affirmative definitions of disability and (homo) parenting, categories that constitute diversity and human existence. Characteristics that, when subjected to a classificatory look, of normative evaluation, produce discrimination and a lack of value. This process encounters cisheterocorponormative and patriarchal narratives that produce practices of social exclusion.

Cishetocorponormativity is a force of subjection based on the exploration of power relations criss-crossed by coloniality, capitalism, gender, sexual orientation, functionality/performance, race/ethnicity, and class, which is intrinsically linked to patriarchy, “a political system that models male culture and domination, especially against women [...] reinforced by religion and the nuclear family, which impose gender roles from childhood based on binary identities”³3 Akotirene C. Interseccionalidade. São Paulo: Pólen; 2019.(p.67).

We stress here that the exercise of parenthood is not limited to the gender binary and encompasses varied sexual orientations. We share an idea of parenting from the perspective of producing bonds and as an “expression of encounter” that brings together different combinations of subjects in “the formation of family networks, and which is not restricted to the nuclear, consanguineous, heteronormative model”⁴4 Ribeiro CR, Gomes R. Moreira MCN. A paternidade e a parentalidade como questões de saúde frente aos rearranjos de gênero. Cien Saude Colet 2015; 20(11):3589-3598.(p.3595). At the same time, the body and its functional makeup are not restricted to attributes designated as normal and expected when it comes to thinking, seeing, hearing, touching, walking, speaking, or communicating.

Can disability be a desirable attribute for an upcoming child? Headlines published in recent years answer this question positively, given the experiences of gay men and lesbian women. The mediatization of these stories plays two important roles: public defense of the right to adoption by same-sex people/couples (not yet legally regulated) and encouraging the adoption of children with disabilities. However, they invite us to go further, in search of deeper reflections on this relationship and its less explicit repercussions. We dedicate ourselves to discussing them, understanding that at this intersection there is an affirmative look at difference, which can be understood as dissent, as it breaks with a cisheterocorponormative look.

Initiatives to encourage the adoption of children with disabilities⁵5 Brasil. Lei nº 12.955, de 5 de fevereiro de 2014. Acrescenta § 9º ao art. 47 da Lei nº 8.069, de 13 de julho de 1990 (Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente), para estabelecer prioridade de tramitação aos processos de adoção em que o adotando for criança ou adolescente com deficiência ou com doença crônica. Diário Oficial da União 2014; 6 fev. find that most adopters are not willing to receive this type of child. Moreover, the situation is aggravated even further by ethnic/racial, generational, and health situation intersections⁶6 Assembleia Legislativa do Estado de São Paulo (Alesp). Apenas 2,5 dos 30 mil pretendentes à adoção na fila de espera, adotariam crianças com deficiências físicas ou intelectuais [Internet]. 2021 [acessado 2023 ago 8]. Disponível em: https://www.al.sp.gov.br/noticia/?id=431145.
https://www.al.sp.gov.br/noticia/?id=431...

7 Ministério Público do Paraná. Idade, cor da pele e problemas de saúde diminuem as chances de adoção de crianças e adolescentes que estão em entidades de acolhimento [Internet]. 2019 [acessado 2023 ago 8] Disponível em: https://mppr.mp.br/Noticia/Idadecor-da-pele-e-problemas-de-saude-diminuem-chances-de-adocao-de-criancas-e.
https://mppr.mp.br/Noticia/Idadecor-da-p... ^-88 Reis T. Só 7,5% não fazem restrição a criança com doença ou deficiência ao adotar [Internet]. G1 Globo; 2015 [acessado 2023 ago 8]. Disponível em: https:// g1.globo.com/bemestar/noticia/2015/02/so-75-naofazem-restricao-crianca-com-doenca-ou-deficiencia-ao-adotar.html.
https:// g1.globo.com/bemestar/noticia/2... . We take as guiding questions for this essay: what are the possible intersections between homoparental families (made up of gay/ lesbian adults and same-sex couples)⁹9 Gomes R. Albernaz, L. Ribeiro, CR. Moreira, MC. Nascimento, M. Linhas de cuidados masculinos voltados para a saúde sexual, a reprodução e a paternidade. Cien Saude Colet 2016; 21(5):1545-1552. and children with disabilities? How are their stories expressed in public narratives by the media? How do media devices address the topic?

Our study began with the analysis of headlines and reports on the adoption of children with disabilities by homoparental families in order to illuminate clues left about the repercussions of this process, especially regarding the social and health relationships of families. People with disabilities and LGBTQIA+ people have become populations of interest in the field of public health for decades¹⁰10 Dias FS. 2023. Empoemar a reabilitação, deslimitar a deficiência, transver o cuidado: das normativas humanitárias à encantaria contracolonial [tese]. Rio de Janeiro: Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sérgio Arouca; 2023.^,1111 Abade EA, Chaves SC, Silva GC. Saúde da população LGBT: uma análise dos agentes, dos objetos de interesse e das disputas de um espaço de produção científica emergente. Physis 2020; 30(4):e300418. and have been approached as especially vulnerable. It is our intention to assume the importance of intersecting homoparenting and the adoption of children with disabilities, through the lenses of human and social sciences in collective health, seeking to provide contributions to intersectoral care practices.

Methodological aspects

The present study adopted the theoretical essay as a methodology due to its exploratory character, of a free and critical exercise, mobilizing other forays into the subject, with no clear intention of producing evidence⁴4 Ribeiro CR, Gomes R. Moreira MCN. A paternidade e a parentalidade como questões de saúde frente aos rearranjos de gênero. Cien Saude Colet 2015; 20(11):3589-3598.^,1010 Dias FS. 2023. Empoemar a reabilitação, deslimitar a deficiência, transver o cuidado: das normativas humanitárias à encantaria contracolonial [tese]. Rio de Janeiro: Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sérgio Arouca; 2023.^,1212 Castiel LD. Ensaios fora do tubo: a saúde e seus paradoxos. São Paulo: Hucitec; 2021.. We share “initial and partial reflections”¹²12 Castiel LD. Ensaios fora do tubo: a saúde e seus paradoxos. São Paulo: Hucitec; 2021.(p.44), in which the questions raised matter more than the production of answers and conclusive thoughts¹²12 Castiel LD. Ensaios fora do tubo: a saúde e seus paradoxos. São Paulo: Hucitec; 2021..

We use the essay as a path of thought, as we understand that the homoparental adoption of children with disabilities opens up the “possibility of a new experience of the present”¹³13 Larrosa J. A operação ensaio: sobre o ensaiar e o ensaiar-se no pensamento, na escrita e na vida. Educ Real 2004; 29(1):27-43.(p.33), which leads us to an exercise in experimental and thoughtful writing, with provisional criticisms that are both open-ended and continuous. “The essay is the writing of an insecure and problematic time”¹³13 Larrosa J. A operação ensaio: sobre o ensaiar e o ensaiar-se no pensamento, na escrita e na vida. Educ Real 2004; 29(1):27-43.(p.38), which calls us to “observe existence from the perspective of possibilities, [rehearsing] new possibilities of life”¹³13 Larrosa J. A operação ensaio: sobre o ensaiar e o ensaiar-se no pensamento, na escrita e na vida. Educ Real 2004; 29(1):27-43.(p.37). The novelty character - which also makes this study unique - is posed by these parenting experiences that are still atypical, unregulated, and permeated by power relations. Hence the need for thought experimentation and critical reflection on what is happening.

We consider that headlines and reports are documents that record a movement of themes and events related to the “adoption/homoparenting” axis. These documents were accessed by the first author over the last six years, under the influence of algorithms that reveal interests and allow social interactions. This path indicates the possibility of the socio-anthropological use of platforms¹⁴14 Deslandes S, Coutinho T. Pesquisa social em ambientes digitais em tempos de COVID-19: notas teórico-metodológicas. Cad Saude Publica 2020; 36(11):e00223120.(p.4), which explains the fact that, after the initial accesses, the reception of reports related to the aforementioned axis became frequent, leading the first author to constitute a collection with the material.

The items were cataloged in a text document containing the headline of each report and its access link. These links were consulted individually throughout the month of August 2023 to check their availability. The reports were then read in order to learn about the stories reported and check our inclusion criteria (reports in Portuguese, which addressed stories of same-sex couples and/or gay and lesbian people adopting children with disabilities, regardless of the nationality of the families). In a complementary manner and during the same period, additional searches were carried out on the Google search engine, using the combined keywords: homoparental adoption and children with disabilities, adoption by samesex couples and children with disabilities, samesex couples and children with disabilities, gays/ lesbians and child with a disability, who indicated the same stories and reports previously received and gathered.

In the end, six reports published in Brazil, in Portuguese, were included, three stories from Brazilian families and three stories from foreign families. Only one report on a Brazilian family was excluded due to having little information about the story reported. We chose to include stories with Brazilian and foreign families to guarantee a greater number of narratives and observe whether or not cultural and normative differences seem to have a distinct impact on the experiences of adopters and adoptees, a final item that was not possible to address in depth due to content limitations. The stories were analyzed in full, protecting the real names of the subjects, as these are open access reports.

The interpretation of this collection was performed in light of studies on homoparental adoption and adoption of children with disabilities. To grasp elements to support the understanding of the aspects involving the relationship between these subjects, feminist approaches to care and disability¹⁵15 Kittay EF. Equality, dignity and disability. In: Lyons MA, Waldron F, editors. Perspectives on Equality The Second Seamus Heaney Lectures. Dublin: The Liffey Press; 2005.^,1616 Kittay EF. Dependency, difference and the global ethics of longterm care. J Pol Philos 2005; 13(4):443-469. also comprised the interpretative perspective, operating as expressive webs of the grammars of ableism²2 Moreira MC, Dias FS, Mello AG. York SW. Gramáticas do capacitismo: diálogos nas dobras entre deficiência, gênero, infância e adolescência. Cien Saude Colet 2022; 27(10):3949-3958.. We consider ableism to be a corporal normative key that disqualifies diverse subjects²2 Moreira MC, Dias FS, Mello AG. York SW. Gramáticas do capacitismo: diálogos nas dobras entre deficiência, gênero, infância e adolescência. Cien Saude Colet 2022; 27(10):3949-3958., and we highlight its possible repercussions on the existence of prominent families.

Ableism as a transversal grammar calls for intersectional articulations²2 Moreira MC, Dias FS, Mello AG. York SW. Gramáticas do capacitismo: diálogos nas dobras entre deficiência, gênero, infância e adolescência. Cien Saude Colet 2022; 27(10):3949-3958.(p.3950) to understand and confront mechanisms of oppression that distinctively affect bodies located at identity crossroads of gender, sexual orientation, race, and class, with disability being incorporated more recently³3 Akotirene C. Interseccionalidade. São Paulo: Pólen; 2019.. These grammars are exquisite when this profile of adoption candidates has values, interests, and capabilities tested through the spontaneous and/or conditional availability of children with disabilities for their care, a phenomenon that demands deeper reflections. This essay presents itself as an initial effort in this direction.

A preamble: Adoption and homoparenting

Adoption, an act of affection and care, socially and legally supported, focuses on the best interests of the child and adolescent¹⁷17 Brasil. Lei nº 8.069, de 12 de julho de 1990. Dispõe sobre o Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente e dá outras providências. Diário Oficial da União 1990; 16 jul.. Approximately 563 children with a disability are available for adoption and 1,410 applicants are willing to adopt children with disabilities, according to the National Council of Justice¹⁸18 Sistema Nacional de Adoção e Acolhimento do Conselho Nacional de Justiça. Pretendentes disponíveis X crianças disponíveis para adoção [Internet]. [acessado 2023 ago 08]. Disponível em: https://paineisanalytics.cnj.jus.br/single/?appid=ccd72056-8999=4434--913b-74f5b5b31b2assheet4f1d9435-00b1-4c8c-beb7-8ed9dba4e45asopt=currselsselect=clearall.
https://paineisanalytics.cnj.jus.br/sing... . It is estimated that LGBTQIA+ people/couples make up a large part of the group interested in broad profiles regarding disability, health conditions, age, sex, and race/ethnicity¹⁹19 Dias VM, Conceição G. A possibilidade jurídica por casais homoafetivos. Rev Elet Inic Cien 2013; 4(4):906927.

20 Gross J, Cadermatori DML. Entre a prateleira e a fila da adoção: algumas considerações sobre o perfil adotivo de casais homossexuais. In: Anais da Semana Científica Unilasalle (SEFIC). Canoas; 2016.

21 Souza PMA, Borges JC. Adoção por casais homoafetivos: uma nova família contemporânea. Rev Acad Inst Cien Jurid 2016; 3(2):114-136.

22 Rodriguez BC. Parentalidade e adoção em casais de homens. Uma análise psicanalítica vincular [tese]. São Paulo: Universidade de São Paulo; 2017.

23 Cecílio MS. Adoção por casais do mesmo sexo na perspectiva de profissionais do Sistema de Justiça. Estud Psicol 2018; 23(4):392-403.

24 Peixoto PHL, Gregório MFA. Adoção de crianças por casais homossexuais: contestação e submissão da ordem familiar. ODEERE 2019; 4(7):149-164.^-2525 Santos CF, Freitas YKSL. O direito à adoção de crianças e adolescentes por casais homoafetivos e seu fundamento no princípio da dignidade humana. Rev Socializ 2021; 8(1):47-58..

The meanings of family in normative texts emphasize heterosexual and cisgender makeups²⁴24 Peixoto PHL, Gregório MFA. Adoção de crianças por casais homossexuais: contestação e submissão da ordem familiar. ODEERE 2019; 4(7):149-164.^,2626 Souza DC, Coelho IM, Honorato EJS. Adoção por casais homossexuais - uma revisão integrativa. Nova Perspec Sistem 2022; 31(73):74-92., and adoption by same-sex couples has required prior recognition of the right to family formation by the judiciary branch²⁷27 Conselho Nacional de Justiça (CNJ). Resolução nº 175, de 14 de maio de 2013. Dispõe sobre a habilitação, celebração de casamento civil, ou de conversão de união estável em casamento, entre pessoas de mesmo sexo. Diário Oficial da União 2013, 15 maio.^,2828 Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF). Recurso extraordinário 846.102 - PR - Paraná. Relator: Min. Cármen Lúcia, Julgado em 05/03/2015, publicado em DJe-052 18/03/2015. Brasília; 2015.. It is well-known that: unilateral adoption is encouraged for same-sex couples; couples close to the heteronorm, via compulsory monogamy, have greater chances of success in the adoption process; however, the cohabitation stage has been greatly increased for homosexual couples and they have faced unofficial demands not applied to heterosexual couples²⁴24 Peixoto PHL, Gregório MFA. Adoção de crianças por casais homossexuais: contestação e submissão da ordem familiar. ODEERE 2019; 4(7):149-164.^,2626 Souza DC, Coelho IM, Honorato EJS. Adoção por casais homossexuais - uma revisão integrativa. Nova Perspec Sistem 2022; 31(73):74-92.^,2929 Tomobolato MA, Maia ACB, Santos MA. A trajetória de adoção de uma criança por um casal de lésbiscas. Psic Teoria Pesq 2019; 35:e3546.. Also noteworthy is the perception that gay couples face more difficulties than lesbians in the adoption process²⁶26 Souza DC, Coelho IM, Honorato EJS. Adoção por casais homossexuais - uma revisão integrativa. Nova Perspec Sistem 2022; 31(73):74-92.. Studies indicate that this difference can be attributed to different factors, with emphasis on gender inequalities that place women as natural caregivers and men as incapable of providing adequate care, as well as a greater social acceptability of same-sex unions between women²⁶26 Souza DC, Coelho IM, Honorato EJS. Adoção por casais homossexuais - uma revisão integrativa. Nova Perspec Sistem 2022; 31(73):74-92.^,3030 Freires LA. Atitudes frente à homoparentalidade: uma explicação a partir das variáveis explícitas e implícitas [tese]. João Pessoa: Universidade Federal da Paraíba; 2015.. Another explanation for these phenomena is the fact that the advances achieved by homoparental families maintained heterosexual parenthood as a “parameter for analysis and achievement of rights”³¹31 Oliveira AC, Rocumback IA. Exercício de parentalidades por pessoas LGBTQIA+: disputas de sentidos no discurso judicial brasileiro. Rev Bras Est Homocult 2023; 6(20):162-182.(p.171).

As there is no national legal provision on the subject and the advances achieved are restricted to the legal sphere, it is important to highlight the political challenges of the present and question whether or not there is a relationship between this partial recognition and the strategy of expanding the profile of adoptees by these families.

A First Portrait: Homoparental experiences and the adoption of children with disabilities

The collection gathered and organized in the analytical chart below (Chart 1) informs the headlines, respective platforms, and year of publication.

The first highlight after immersing ourselves in the collection concerns the sexual orientation and marital status of the adopters, the disability of the adoptees, and the history of “rejection” of the adopted children - a combination that reinforces the profiles of the adopters and the chosen children as extraordinary. There are a variety of dissemination vehicles, including: platforms allied to LGBTQIA+ struggles; disseminating information about people with disabilities; of major national size; of current affairs and real stories. The experiences shared in the reports are organized in Charts 2 and 3:

A look at Adoption, Disability and Homoparenting in the grammars of ableism

The children protagonists of the shared stories are affected by ableism in macro and micropolitical dimensions, being culturally perceived by those outside the adopters as undesirable children²2 Moreira MC, Dias FS, Mello AG. York SW. Gramáticas do capacitismo: diálogos nas dobras entre deficiência, gênero, infância e adolescência. Cien Saude Colet 2022; 27(10):3949-3958. and hierarchized by the “compulsory corponormative ableist device”²2 Moreira MC, Dias FS, Mello AG. York SW. Gramáticas do capacitismo: diálogos nas dobras entre deficiência, gênero, infância e adolescência. Cien Saude Colet 2022; 27(10):3949-3958.(p.3951). Revictimization through multiple rejection, which precedes adoption, appears as one of the effects mentioned in the reports. Gay and lesbian adopters, on the other hand, have their bodies and relationships exposed to cishetero and guidelines, which often describe them as incapable of parenting, loving, caring for, and educating children, with the adoption of children with disabilities requiring differentiated care being an atypical radicality that contradicts this premise.

The reports portray a predominance of adopting couples made up of gay men, with only one lesbian couple and two single gay men. The stories refer to a previous desire to adopt a child with a disability; opportunity without planning; and, formal imposition by the adoption regulatory body. The children were aged between 0-6 years, most had intellectual and/or multiple disabilities, information about them was restricted to diagnosis and disability was the main reason for adoption.

When the parents were cited, the women who accessed the right to deliver the child for adoption with no constraints¹⁷17 Brasil. Lei nº 8.069, de 12 de julho de 1990. Dispõe sobre o Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente e dá outras providências. Diário Oficial da União 1990; 16 jul. were morally judged, revealing misogynistic traits in the production of meaning by the media. If the health conditions of the adopting parents/mothers were not focused on in the reports, the emphasis for children is on disability in terms of functionality and diagnosis, considering therapies and specialized care.

Experiences of adopting children with disabilities by homoparental families are still rare in field studies²⁹29 Tomobolato MA, Maia ACB, Santos MA. A trajetória de adoção de uma criança por um casal de lésbiscas. Psic Teoria Pesq 2019; 35:e3546.^,3131 Oliveira AC, Rocumback IA. Exercício de parentalidades por pessoas LGBTQIA+: disputas de sentidos no discurso judicial brasileiro. Rev Bras Est Homocult 2023; 6(20):162-182.^,3232 Ribeiro LJ. A experiência parental de casais homoafetivos: uma abordagem psicanalítica [dissertação]. Campinas: Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas; 2018., with a restriction on the topics covered in this relationship. In general, the most discussed health aspects refer to the mental health of the adopters and the adoptees³²32 Ribeiro LJ. A experiência parental de casais homoafetivos: uma abordagem psicanalítica [dissertação]. Campinas: Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas; 2018. and difficulties in accessing public health services³¹31 Oliveira AC, Rocumback IA. Exercício de parentalidades por pessoas LGBTQIA+: disputas de sentidos no discurso judicial brasileiro. Rev Bras Est Homocult 2023; 6(20):162-182.. In this light, we chose to expand reflections on the area of health in its relationship with homoparenting.

Several national health policies and initiatives address the adopting population treated in this essay⁴⁵45 Brasil. Ministério da Saúde (MS). A Política nacional de atenção integral à saúde da mulher. Brasília: MS; 2004.

46 Brasil. Ministério da Saúde (MS). Política nacional de atenção integral à saúde do homem. Brasília: MS; 2008.

47 Brasil. Ministério da Saúde (MS). Política nacional de saúde integral de lésbicas, gays, bissexuais, travestis e transexuais. Brasília: MS; 2011.^-4848 Brasil. Ministério da Saúde (MS). Guia do pré-natal do parceiro para profissionais de saúde. Brasília: MS; 2023., providing for the confrontation of gender inequalities in the sector, the guarantee of sexual and reproductive rights, and the recognition of different ways of exercising care and parenting. However, thinking about care from the perspective of diversity is still a challenge to be faced collectively.

There is a tendency to make the profiles of adopters and adoptees exotic and extraordinary, which is why we use ableism and care as analytical keys to the atypicality evoked in these media clippings. This is because the characteristics and/ or diagnoses of the children, the marital status, and the sexual orientation of the adopters were the categories chosen by the editors to produce public interest. Likewise, the appeal of gender in relation to parental responsibilities, in the texts of the reports, reminds us that disability care has been compulsorily carried out by women or by people associated with the “feminine”.

We emphasize care as an attribute shared among all human beings, regardless of their bodily and functional characteristics¹⁵15 Kittay EF. Equality, dignity and disability. In: Lyons MA, Waldron F, editors. Perspectives on Equality The Second Seamus Heaney Lectures. Dublin: The Liffey Press; 2005.^,1616 Kittay EF. Dependency, difference and the global ethics of longterm care. J Pol Philos 2005; 13(4):443-469.. As an ethical perspective, it mobilizes the recognition of our dependencies and vulnerabilities, without making the role of the caregiver invisible, as all care involves intensely personal, social, symbolic, and significant relationships. Reviewing institutions and values to recognize our dependence opens up possibilities to recognize similarities and respect differences¹⁵15 Kittay EF. Equality, dignity and disability. In: Lyons MA, Waldron F, editors. Perspectives on Equality The Second Seamus Heaney Lectures. Dublin: The Liffey Press; 2005.^,1616 Kittay EF. Dependency, difference and the global ethics of longterm care. J Pol Philos 2005; 13(4):443-469..

The experience of adopters and homoparental families from cisheterocorponormative perspectives overshadows the different experiences of adoption and fatherhood/maternity between straight and homosexual couples. The Portuguese couple’s speech about both being “human beings” and that the adoption process does not differentiate them from heterosexual couples is a demonstration of this effect, which operates as a homogenizer of fundamentally heterogeneous processes due to the dimensions of race, class, and gender.

The guarantee of sexual and reproductive rights conditions the recognition of homoparental families, which is why we demand them in the realm of justice. Parenting is intersected with care, a category equally crossed by gender inequalities that hierarchize subjects according to certain attributes that facilitate or harm certain groups in the construction of their relationships. Therefore, we understand parental care as being involved in guaranteeing “countless combinations of family networks and expressions of parenting based on exchanges of care goods, the promotion of life and the expression of differences”⁴4 Ribeiro CR, Gomes R. Moreira MCN. A paternidade e a parentalidade como questões de saúde frente aos rearranjos de gênero. Cien Saude Colet 2015; 20(11):3589-3598.(p.3593).

Despite recent advances, the concept of family is not made explicit in primary care health documents. This absence interferes with care for homoparental families and family/reproductive planning programs, which do not sufficiently include adoption⁴⁹49 Albuquerque GA, Belém JM, Nunes JFC, Leite MF, Quirino GS. Planejamento reprodutivo em casais homossexuais na Estratégia de Saúde da Família. Rev APS 2018; 21(1):104-111.. No report mentioned assistance at this level of care. But several of them demonstrated that the assessment of caregiving capacity was called into question in several situations, especially in the case of gay men. This reveals the homophobic nature of these experiences, which involve components such as the imposition of gender roles on the recognition of care.

On the one hand, there is the ability to care for someone linked to compulsory heterosexuality, in which only cisgender and heterosexual men are previously qualified for fatherhood, not necessarily for care, taken as a natural and almost exclusive attribute of women. Care, however, is converted into an indicator to evaluate homosexual couples with the purpose of verifying whether or not any partner assumes care in the family relationship. The visualization of this caring persona is insufficient when compared to the demands of a maternal figure. Such rationality does not seem to influence lesbian parenting, enhanced by dual motherhood. As for women, the disqualification focuses especially on the control of their bodies and sexuality and less on the ability to care, unquestionable by patriarchy (see the need to affirm that the relationship “is not a mess”)³⁷37 Redação Nós. Casal de mulheres adota bebê com síndrome de Down: "a gente não planejava" [Internet]. Nós, Terra; 2022 [acesso 2023 ago 13]. Disponível em: https://www.terra.com.br/nos/videos/casal-de-mulheres-adota-bebe-com-sindrome-de-down-a-gentenao-planejava,58490a2ff9b675368f72f5484e0dc1e4ydgvz3ja.html..

The meanings of motherhood are exposed when the person who answers as a mother does not fit into the cishetero manual. Homoparenting does not include transvestites and trans people, but its relevance stands out because one of the reports brought the experience of a gay man who identifies as an ex-transvestite and a mother. His story informs that political identities influence patterns of recognition in the context of hegemonic parenting, supported by heterosexuality⁴4 Ribeiro CR, Gomes R. Moreira MCN. A paternidade e a parentalidade como questões de saúde frente aos rearranjos de gênero. Cien Saude Colet 2015; 20(11):3589-3598. and cisgenderity⁵⁰50 Hining AP, Toneli MJF. Cisgeneridade: um operador analítico no transfeminismo brasileiro. Rev Estud Fem 2023; 31(1):e83266.. This also reveals to us that mediatized experiences are marked by manifestations of ableist logic in intersectional metamorphoses²2 Moreira MC, Dias FS, Mello AG. York SW. Gramáticas do capacitismo: diálogos nas dobras entre deficiência, gênero, infância e adolescência. Cien Saude Colet 2022; 27(10):3949-3958. with sexual orientation and gender.

Regarding children’s health, foreign experiences were restricted to diagnosis and two national experiences included rehabilitation care, third sector services, and private insurance. The child who accessed insurance services did so in an insufficient and disjointed manner, being the one whose family demonstrated greater vulnerability: their custody was provisional; the parents had not formalized the union; the disability was acquired due to violence; there was a report of an ableist demonstration by the health professional. Access to non-governmental and fragmented services imposes weaknesses on comprehensive care. Precarious access to essential supplies such as diapers and food indicate complete disregard for their health.

Thus, the children’s stories were summarized to diagnoses and rejection histories and their health demands were reduced to body functionality, which summarizes the reductionist way in which the health of people with disabilities has been politically approached and the challenges to providing comprehensive care. This corroborates the fact that health care for this population is often restricted or prioritized within the scope of specialized care, through rehabilitation services, historically marked by correction practices, today criticized in the light of ableism, within the scope of human and social sciences in health¹⁰10 Dias FS. 2023. Empoemar a reabilitação, deslimitar a deficiência, transver o cuidado: das normativas humanitárias à encantaria contracolonial [tese]. Rio de Janeiro: Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sérgio Arouca; 2023..

The reports also reveal that the adopters were contacted mainly by the State itself, according to the desired profile, being presented with children rejected by other families. In international experiences, the adopter profile is imposed, while in national cases, the offer was voluntary. The timing of the processes was irregular. The only report to portray the experience of lesbian women is in line with the study by Souza et al.²⁶26 Souza DC, Coelho IM, Honorato EJS. Adoção por casais homossexuais - uma revisão integrativa. Nova Perspec Sistem 2022; 31(73):74-92., who found greater difficulties in the process for gay men, which can be justified by gender stereotypes²³23 Cecílio MS. Adoção por casais do mesmo sexo na perspectiva de profissionais do Sistema de Justiça. Estud Psicol 2018; 23(4):392-403. that emphasize care for feminine attributes and greater acceptability of lesbian family makeups, as already mentioned.

There is no national legal guidance that associates certain profiles of applicants and specific groups of children. However, some countries already have a history of judicial decisions from this perspective, according to the story of the Italian adopter³⁹39 Redação BBC. A história do gay solteiro que adotou bebê com síndrome de Down rejeitada por 20 famílias [Internet]. BBC News; 2018 [acesso 2023 ago 13]. Disponível em: https://g1.globo.com/mundo/ noticia/2018/12/28/a-historia-do-gay-solteiro-que-adotou-bebe-com-sindrome-de-down-rejeitada-por20-familias.ghtml.
https://g1.globo.com/mundo/ noticia/2018... . On another occasion, an adoption service professional in France publicly stated that gays could only adopt “children with problems”⁵¹51 RFI. Gays só podem adotar 'crianças com problemas', diz diretora de serviço de adoção na França [Internet]. 2018 [acessado 2023 ago 15]. Disponível em: https://g1.globo.com/mundo/noticia/gays-so-podem-adotar-criancas-com-problemas-diz-diretora-de-servico-de-adocao-na-franca.ghtml.
https://g1.globo.com/mundo/noticia/gays-... , mobilizing this debate in several countries, including Brazil.

National research has already questioned this practice and revealed the targeting of children with disabilities to homoparental families²⁴24 Peixoto PHL, Gregório MFA. Adoção de crianças por casais homossexuais: contestação e submissão da ordem familiar. ODEERE 2019; 4(7):149-164.^,2626 Souza DC, Coelho IM, Honorato EJS. Adoção por casais homossexuais - uma revisão integrativa. Nova Perspec Sistem 2022; 31(73):74-92.^,2929 Tomobolato MA, Maia ACB, Santos MA. A trajetória de adoção de uma criança por um casal de lésbiscas. Psic Teoria Pesq 2019; 35:e3546.. On the other hand, studies reveal that homoparental families believe that the intention to adopt children with disabilities increases the chances of having a successful adoption and influences the speed of the process²²22 Rodriguez BC. Parentalidade e adoção em casais de homens. Uma análise psicanalítica vincular [tese]. São Paulo: Universidade de São Paulo; 2017.^,3232 Ribeiro LJ. A experiência parental de casais homoafetivos: uma abordagem psicanalítica [dissertação]. Campinas: Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas; 2018.. Hence the importance of delving into this debate in a broader sense, with the LGBTQIA+ community and people with disabilities.

Homoparental families agree with the designation of non-traditional adopters⁵²52 Rosenthal JA. Outcomes of Adoption of Children with Special Needs. Future Children Adoption 1993; 3(1):77-88.. For Rosenthal⁵²52 Rosenthal JA. Outcomes of Adoption of Children with Special Needs. Future Children Adoption 1993; 3(1):77-88., these families have the best experiences when it comes to adopting children with disabilities, according to statistics, reports, and research, which is in line with the greater willingness of same-sex couples to adopt children with disabilities.

Although the experiences analyzed make up a diverse mosaic of families and experiences, their stories find notes from Mozzi and Nuernberg⁵³53 Mozzi G, Nuernberg AH. Adoption of Children with Disabilities: A Study with Adoptive Parents. Paideia 2016; 26(63):101-109. about conditions that positively impacted adoption: the social recognition of motherhood or fatherhood; prior contact with people with disabilities; as well as the central role of the child in the bonding process with adopters and in care practices. For the authors, these aspects acted as motivators to carry out the adoption process and allowed the recognition of disability as merely an attribute or component of the child’s identity, across gender, age, race/ethnicity, among others. In this sense, the barriers experienced by children can make disability operate as a bond-intensifying device.

In relation to the media responsible for disseminating the stories covered in this essay, it is worth highlighting the unanimous construction of favorable visibility for the adoption of children with disabilities by homoparental families. However, there were no explicit defenses to the adoption of children with different profiles, including those without disabilities. The positive image of the adoption of children with disabilities by gay and lesbian couples and individuals was emphasized by narratives of rejection and abandonment of children due to their disability by biological families.

These observations were interpreted through the lens of the grammars of ableism²2 Moreira MC, Dias FS, Mello AG. York SW. Gramáticas do capacitismo: diálogos nas dobras entre deficiência, gênero, infância e adolescência. Cien Saude Colet 2022; 27(10):3949-3958., crossed with gender and sexual orientation. This was not intended to explore the contents individually, but rather to capture the way in which cisheterocorponormativity operates in the production of values. In these cases, the adoption of rejected children with disabilities seems to have been considered positive not only for the defense of the right to adoption by same-sex applicants, but, above all, for the best interests of children who have not found other parenting alternatives among heterosexual couples.

The situation of people with disabilities in prolonged and permanent institutionalization was presented in a report by Human Rights⁵⁴54 Human Rights Watch (HRW). "Eles ficam até morrer". Uma vida de isolamento e negligência em instituições para pessoas com deficiência no Brasil. EUA: HRW; 2018. after a visit to Brazil. The document proves that children with disabilities remain in care for longer than children without disabilities, remaining in these conditions throughout their adult lives, most of whom leave these spaces only at the time of death.

The document in question revealed studies conducted in 2016 and 2018, the results of which reported that more than 60% of all children with disabilities lived in institutional care beyond six years of age⁵⁴54 Human Rights Watch (HRW). "Eles ficam até morrer". Uma vida de isolamento e negligência em instituições para pessoas com deficiência no Brasil. EUA: HRW; 2018. (exceeding the years of life of the children protagonists of the reports analyzed) and that most of them spent more than half of their lives in these spaces, respectively. In this sense, given the non-compliance with the objectives designed for embracement institutions (temporary reception and as a last resort), the direction of children with disabilities to homoparental families may find a morally situated opportunity.

Finally, we draw attention to an international movement to condition the right to adoption by LGBTQIA+ people to the acceptance of children with disabilities and serious illnesses³⁹39 Redação BBC. A história do gay solteiro que adotou bebê com síndrome de Down rejeitada por 20 famílias [Internet]. BBC News; 2018 [acesso 2023 ago 13]. Disponível em: https://g1.globo.com/mundo/ noticia/2018/12/28/a-historia-do-gay-solteiro-que-adotou-bebe-com-sindrome-de-down-rejeitada-por20-familias.ghtml.
https://g1.globo.com/mundo/ noticia/2018... ^,5454 Human Rights Watch (HRW). "Eles ficam até morrer". Uma vida de isolamento e negligência em instituições para pessoas com deficiência no Brasil. EUA: HRW; 2018., a connection that demands in-depth analyses and more robust studies, essential elements for understanding these events and guaranteeing the human rights of homoparental families and children with disabilities and complex health conditions, available for adoption.

Conclusion

The essay was mobilized by guiding questions whose answers are not imposed in a generalizing or finalistic way. Homoparental families and children with disabilities intersect in the context of adoption based on different factors, with the discriminatory experience being a common element, analyzed under the grammars of ableism and care. It was found that media approaches endorse the right to family formation and the adoption of children with disabilities by homoparental families without critically delving into the disability category and without explicitly supporting the adoption of children with typical profiles.

Considering that our collection was restricted to the reports gathered, and that in this essay the exploratory nature allows us to indicate agendas, we recognize the need for future research that explores the perspective of adopting families, their arrangements, challenges, and confrontations. We reinforce the need for new investigations into the intersections between ableist and LGBTQIA+phobic structures, incorporating the intersection of other forms of oppression such as racism, in parenting experiences and their challenges to collective health, targeting strategies to guarantee comprehensive care, family health, and reproductive justice. In the same direction, we highlight the importance of anti-LGBTQI+phobic and anti-ableism training within the scope of permanent education and continuing training, in different sectors.

The essay indicates that the intersections between homophobia and ableism increase discriminatory and oppressive logics and that this union of groups considered “undesirable” is expressed as a strategy of governmentality. This allows the public authorities to simultaneously solve the problem of children and adolescents with disabilities who would remain in shelters “until they die”⁵⁴54 Human Rights Watch (HRW). "Eles ficam até morrer". Uma vida de isolamento e negligência em instituições para pessoas com deficiência no Brasil. EUA: HRW; 2018. and guarantee homoparental families some status of existence, even if conditioned by their rules, which reveals the complexity of grammars of ableism applied to the sexual and reproductive rights of LGBTQIA+ adopters and to the fundamental rights of children and adolescents with disabilities available for adoption.

References

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