An Australian member of parliament has called for the children of drug addicts to be permanently removed from their parents and offered for adoption. Liberal MP Bronwyn Bishop wants to see adoption, rather than fostering, used to separate children from parents who are battling addiction. Excuse me, but has the honorable member completely forgotten about successful drug rehab programs?



Ms. Bishop, who is currently chairing an Australian parliamentary inquiry into the impact of illicit drug use on families, told the Australian Broadcasting Company's Four Corners program that the current system is skewed towards the interests of drug-using parents, and not their children. She said there are hundreds of parents who are desperate to adopt children and give them love and good homes, but “there is this ‘biology first’ principle."

By ignoring that successful drug rehab can keep a family together, and tossing “this biology first principle" on the trash heap, Ms. Bishop nullifies both the proven breakthroughs in the science of drug rehab, as well as one of the most primal urges of human history and experience – the urge for one’s own biological parents, and children.

Ms. Bishop’s detractors have been quick to speak up. Brisbane Youth Service spokeswoman Amanda Davies said there is no evidence that all people that use drugs are unable to parent their children. And Queensland Council of Social Service president Karyn Walsh said there is strong evidence that forced removals cause children long-term harm. “You can't just go removing children simply because their parents have a drug addiction," she said. “Children need to know their parents, and not all parents who have a drug addiction are bad parents, or incapable of parenting."

Victorian Child Safety Commissioner Bernie Geary put it best when he said, “There is nothing in my experience worse than a child who’s sentenced to be without their parents for the rest of their lives. Children are better off with families in the long run."

And let’s not forget the ultimate solution: if the parents do a successful drug rehab program that gets down to the bottom of why they’re taking drugs and resolves those issues, they won’t be addicts.