"I think that smokers ought not to be allowed to adopt. Many would agree. The danger, to the child, is not abstract or subjective; it is real and present."

But the minimal health risks are surely far less than the deep psychological damage of a child remaining in an institution, because all prospective adoptive families containing smoker are ruled out of adopting?

Slicing the pool of potential adoptee's in such a blanket fashion strikes me to the core when I think of the amount of kids simply desperate to find *loving homes*.