After reading the gay thread... this got me wondering too.

We had an incident here in FL where a man and his wife were denied adoption rights by the state because they were obese, both around 500 lbs.

My opinion on it is the government needs to stay out of it, whether I agree with it or not : I do not agree with gay adoption, jmo, but I disagree more with them making laws for or against what I call "moral" issues.

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Mommy to a banana ( she's 4 ) and a pineapple ( 10 months ), married to a crazy Brit

I don't know if people should be denied just because they're obese, but I would have to say that maybe severely obese people should have an extensive medical exam to see if they are medically fit to have children.

Wow. What was the reasoning? Could they not take care of the children?

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They basically said that they would have health issues in the future. And I think that the husband had really bad diabetes. He was up walking around as was she. They were very big people, but didn't seem incapable of caring for a child....

I am amazed that "they" can do things like that.

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Mommy to a banana ( she's 4 ) and a pineapple ( 10 months ), married to a crazy Brit

Wow - this would have never even crossed my mind as an issue. So did the State ever decide what the "acceptable" weight would be to adopt a child?

I work with a woman whose husband has cystic fibrosis and they were denied at one adoption agency. The reason was because "he will die". She told them "I hate to break it to you....but WE ALL WILL DIE. They were able to adopt with another agency.

I have seen parents that were so big they were wheezing after walking acouple feet. Is it safe to give 500+ lb people a baby that they couldn't physically run after if it ran into the street or ran away at a store. Just food for thought... (get the pun). All shades of gray out there.

Obese people can have biological children and do all the time and manage to raise them somehow. I would think as long as the people were physically and mentally capable they should be able to take care of children.

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That must be something they are checking for now. I was surprised to hear about it when my SIL told me that they had to go for a physical and get their weight checked before their adoption papers went through. She mentioned that when they adopted their first daughter they didn't have to do that but this time one of the things they did have to check was their weight. Not sure why they are doing it though.

Gee..I have health issues, and I'm sure I will in the future....should I give my kids up for adoption? After all, I know FOR CERTAIN I'm going to die....someday.

I know, though that adoption agencies look at everything. They pick apart your finances, talk to your neighbors, etc. I think in many cases, they are worried about liability. My best friend went through that after 15 years of infertility. Finally got approved, then had to move out of state for his job and start all over again, although it was the same parent company. Then the mother changed her mind and took the baby back two weeks later. Then they got the baby back because the mother decided she couldn't handle him. Fine and dandy. Then three months later, my friend discovered she was pregnant! So, yep, they now have 2 healthy kids! (Of course, people asked her if she was going to give up the adopted baby...No way!)

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Make someone's heart smile today.

Wellll......that's a tough one. On one hand, you do want
parents to be able to physically raise a child.......but,
I have never seen an obese person on the news for
killing their kid.....seen plenty of "healthy looking"
people on the news for doing that though.......

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Jen