OP-ED: Rights Denied Same-sex Couples

By Dr. Robert Zavoski

Last week’s unfortunate decision by the New York Court of Appeals to deny marriage rights to same-sex couples is based on outdated and unsupported ideas about child-rearing. The court found that it is rational to conclude that children benefit when marriage is restricted to opposite-sex couples. Mainstream research says exactly the opposite. We must ensure that Connecticut’s courts and General Assembly do not follow New York’s mistaken lead.

Just this week, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a report surveying the country’s marriage laws and their impact on same-sex couples and their families. The conclusion? “Simply put, same-gender civil marriage harms no one, whereas prohibiting civil marriage for gays and lesbians harms these couples and their children.”

There is a striking consensus among child health professionals about the well-being of children of same-sex couples: these children score equally as well on measures of health and mental health as do children of heterosexual couples. Few areas of clinical research demonstrate findings as consistently, yet some conservative activists continue to claim that it is their concern about children that leads them to oppose equal marriage rights for gays and lesbians. Concern about children’s health is precisely the reason that they should reconsider their opposition.

As a pediatrician and as president of the Connecticut Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, I must keep up with current research on children’s health. Although legislators and other public officials are not able to do the same, I urge them nonetheless to ensure that child welfare policies are driven by solid information and not shaky ideology.

So let’s look at the science. From small, pioneering studies in the 1970s, to today’s larger scale investigations, researchers consistently find that it is the quality of children’s relationships to their parents that matter most in raising children. Good parents can be gay or straight, as can bad parents, but in the end, these studies all demonstrate that children’s psychological, social, emotional and academic development cannot be tied to a parent’s sexual orientation or gender. These studies have been conducted by academics at institutions such as the University of Pennsylvania, Tufts University and the University of Virginia, and have been published in peer-reviewed journals.

Many medical, psychological and child welfare organizations have extensively reviewed this research, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists, and the American Psychological Association. Experts at these organizations have meticulously examined 30 years of scholarship, and have reached a degree of consensus rare in science. These professionals are uniquely qualified to assess the research findings and methodology in their field. As a result, each of these organizations adopted official policies acknowledging that children of same-sex parents are as healthy, happy and well-adjusted as their peers.

Opponents cannot point to a single legitimate study (i.e., studies not sponsored by ideological think-tanks) that supports their view that being raised by same-sex parents harms children. Instead, they either assert that all children must have a mother and a father to become well-adjusted adults, or they cite flawed and biased research, such as studies that look at differences between heterosexual two-parent families and single-parent families, usually following divorce. These studies don’t address parental gender or sexual orientation, but look at the lesser economic and educational resources that a single parent may offer a child, and the psychological fallout of divorce.

Using specious arguments about children to deny marriage to same-sex couples is not an expression of caring for children; it is quite the opposite. It’s a reality that gay men and lesbians have children - they adopt, give birth and provide foster care to children. Their children are part of our world. The question remains: What’s best for those children?  Prejudice harms children, whether it is socially enacted or enshrined in law. Ending discrimination in marriage laws will endow the children of same-sex couples the same civil rights and protections as their peers. If a stable childhood based upon a loving marriage between two parents is good for children, isn’t it good for all children?

Dr. Robert Zavoski of Simsbury is a pediatrician in Hartford and president of the Connecticut Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/op_ed/hc-zavoski0711.artjul11,0,449874.story?coll=hc-headlines-oped