AAP supports same-sex marriage

The American Academy of Pediatrics has come out in support of full marriage rights for same-sex couples and is urging the Supreme Court to declare the federal Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional.

In a new policy statement issued March 21, the largest organization of U.S. pediatricians said that it supports marriage equality for all couples, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, as a way to guarantee the long-term social and economic security of children.

The policy also declares AAP support for adoption by single gay and lesbian parents and same-sex couples, as well as for gay and lesbian foster parents. The policy statement, issued by the AAP’s Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health, will be published in the April issue of Pediatrics (2013;131:827-30 [doi: 10.1542/peds.2013-0376]). A technical report detailing the scientific literature that influenced its policy accompanies the statement (Pediatrics 2013;131:e1374-83 [doi: 10.1542/peds.2013-0377]).

The AAP announced its position just days before the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in two landmark same-sex marriage cases. On March 26, the high court will take up Hollingsworth v. Perry, a challenge to California’s Proposition 8 ban on gay marriage. The next day, the justices will hear U.S. v. Windsor, which challenges the constitutionality of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

"I hope that policymakers recognize the needs of children, the health and well-being of children, and the emotional-social development of children," said Dr. Benjamin Siegel, a coauthor of the policy statement and a professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at Boston University. "Families need to be supported to raise their kids, and families ought to be treated equally."

The AAP criticized the DOMA for denying equal access to federal support and legal recognition to children raised in same-sex households. Under that law, same-sex couples – even those legally married under state law – can’t access Social Security disability benefits, housing and food stamp benefits, and military service benefits. Same-sex couples also can’t file joint income tax returns and take advantage of child and dependent care tax credits – benefits that create greater financial security for children, according to the AAP policy.

"Many families [in Massachusetts] are happily married, raising kids, and not getting the same supports from the federal government, both legal and financial, that other married people just have by virtue of their sexual orientation," Dr. Siegel said.

The inability of same-sex couples to marry in most states also means that there are not legal avenues for child custody and financial support in the event of a breakup.

"If you don’t have marriage, you don’t have divorce," said Dr. Ellen C. Perrin, a coauthor of the policy and director of research for the Center for Children with Special Needs at the Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.

The AAP has supported parenting rights for same-sex couples for more than a decade. In 2002, the AAP issued a policy supporting second-parent and coparent adoption by gay and lesbian parents (Pediatrics 2002;109:339-40). The policy was reaffirmed in 2010. And in 2006, the academy issued a report showing that civil unions and domestic partnerships fall short in terms of providing the legal rights, protections, and benefits to children that are offered by civil marriage (Pediatrics 2006;118:349-64). It was after the release of the 2006 report that AAP leaders began examining the evidence in order to create the new policy, Dr. Perrin said.

The new policy is informed by a large body of scientific research from the last 30 years, according to the academy. Overall, the research shows that children who are raised by same-sex parents fare as well as the children of heterosexual parents in terms of emotional, cognitive, social, and sexual functioning. The adjustment of children has much more to do with the quality of the relationships between children and parents and the availability of economic and socioeconomic resources, according to the AAP.

"We believe that is now pretty well clinched, given how much research has happened and how similar the results are," Dr. Perrin said. "There are many other phenomena in children’s lives that are much more problematic or worrisome than what the gender or sexual orientation of their parents is."

[email protected]

On Twitter @MaryEllenNY

The American Academy of Pediatrics has come out in support of full marriage rights for same-sex couples and is urging the Supreme Court to declare the federal Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional.

In a new policy statement issued March 21, the largest organization of U.S. pediatricians said that it supports marriage equality for all couples, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, as a way to guarantee the long-term social and economic security of children.

The policy also declares AAP support for adoption by single gay and lesbian parents and same-sex couples, as well as for gay and lesbian foster parents. The policy statement, issued by the AAP’s Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health, will be published in the April issue of Pediatrics (2013;131:827-30 [doi: 10.1542/peds.2013-0376]). A technical report detailing the scientific literature that influenced its policy accompanies the statement (Pediatrics 2013;131:e1374-83 [doi: 10.1542/peds.2013-0377]).

The AAP announced its position just days before the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in two landmark same-sex marriage cases. On March 26, the high court will take up Hollingsworth v. Perry, a challenge to California’s Proposition 8 ban on gay marriage. The next day, the justices will hear U.S. v. Windsor, which challenges the constitutionality of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

"I hope that policymakers recognize the needs of children, the health and well-being of children, and the emotional-social development of children," said Dr. Benjamin Siegel, a coauthor of the policy statement and a professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at Boston University. "Families need to be supported to raise their kids, and families ought to be treated equally."

The AAP criticized the DOMA for denying equal access to federal support and legal recognition to children raised in same-sex households. Under that law, same-sex couples – even those legally married under state law – can’t access Social Security disability benefits, housing and food stamp benefits, and military service benefits. Same-sex couples also can’t file joint income tax returns and take advantage of child and dependent care tax credits – benefits that create greater financial security for children, according to the AAP policy.

"Many families [in Massachusetts] are happily married, raising kids, and not getting the same supports from the federal government, both legal and financial, that other married people just have by virtue of their sexual orientation," Dr. Siegel said.

The inability of same-sex couples to marry in most states also means that there are not legal avenues for child custody and financial support in the event of a breakup.

"If you don’t have marriage, you don’t have divorce," said Dr. Ellen C. Perrin, a coauthor of the policy and director of research for the Center for Children with Special Needs at the Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.

The AAP has supported parenting rights for same-sex couples for more than a decade. In 2002, the AAP issued a policy supporting second-parent and coparent adoption by gay and lesbian parents (Pediatrics 2002;109:339-40). The policy was reaffirmed in 2010. And in 2006, the academy issued a report showing that civil unions and domestic partnerships fall short in terms of providing the legal rights, protections, and benefits to children that are offered by civil marriage (Pediatrics 2006;118:349-64). It was after the release of the 2006 report that AAP leaders began examining the evidence in order to create the new policy, Dr. Perrin said.

The new policy is informed by a large body of scientific research from the last 30 years, according to the academy. Overall, the research shows that children who are raised by same-sex parents fare as well as the children of heterosexual parents in terms of emotional, cognitive, social, and sexual functioning. The adjustment of children has much more to do with the quality of the relationships between children and parents and the availability of economic and socioeconomic resources, according to the AAP.

"We believe that is now pretty well clinched, given how much research has happened and how similar the results are," Dr. Perrin said. "There are many other phenomena in children’s lives that are much more problematic or worrisome than what the gender or sexual orientation of their parents is."

[email protected]

On Twitter @MaryEllenNY

The American Academy of Pediatrics has come out in support of full marriage rights for same-sex couples and is urging the Supreme Court to declare the federal Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional.

In a new policy statement issued March 21, the largest organization of U.S. pediatricians said that it supports marriage equality for all couples, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, as a way to guarantee the long-term social and economic security of children.

The policy also declares AAP support for adoption by single gay and lesbian parents and same-sex couples, as well as for gay and lesbian foster parents. The policy statement, issued by the AAP’s Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health, will be published in the April issue of Pediatrics (2013;131:827-30 [doi: 10.1542/peds.2013-0376]). A technical report detailing the scientific literature that influenced its policy accompanies the statement (Pediatrics 2013;131:e1374-83 [doi: 10.1542/peds.2013-0377]).

The AAP announced its position just days before the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in two landmark same-sex marriage cases. On March 26, the high court will take up Hollingsworth v. Perry, a challenge to California’s Proposition 8 ban on gay marriage. The next day, the justices will hear U.S. v. Windsor, which challenges the constitutionality of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

"I hope that policymakers recognize the needs of children, the health and well-being of children, and the emotional-social development of children," said Dr. Benjamin Siegel, a coauthor of the policy statement and a professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at Boston University. "Families need to be supported to raise their kids, and families ought to be treated equally."

The AAP criticized the DOMA for denying equal access to federal support and legal recognition to children raised in same-sex households. Under that law, same-sex couples – even those legally married under state law – can’t access Social Security disability benefits, housing and food stamp benefits, and military service benefits. Same-sex couples also can’t file joint income tax returns and take advantage of child and dependent care tax credits – benefits that create greater financial security for children, according to the AAP policy.

"Many families [in Massachusetts] are happily married, raising kids, and not getting the same supports from the federal government, both legal and financial, that other married people just have by virtue of their sexual orientation," Dr. Siegel said.

The inability of same-sex couples to marry in most states also means that there are not legal avenues for child custody and financial support in the event of a breakup.

"If you don’t have marriage, you don’t have divorce," said Dr. Ellen C. Perrin, a coauthor of the policy and director of research for the Center for Children with Special Needs at the Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.

The AAP has supported parenting rights for same-sex couples for more than a decade. In 2002, the AAP issued a policy supporting second-parent and coparent adoption by gay and lesbian parents (Pediatrics 2002;109:339-40). The policy was reaffirmed in 2010. And in 2006, the academy issued a report showing that civil unions and domestic partnerships fall short in terms of providing the legal rights, protections, and benefits to children that are offered by civil marriage (Pediatrics 2006;118:349-64). It was after the release of the 2006 report that AAP leaders began examining the evidence in order to create the new policy, Dr. Perrin said.

The new policy is informed by a large body of scientific research from the last 30 years, according to the academy. Overall, the research shows that children who are raised by same-sex parents fare as well as the children of heterosexual parents in terms of emotional, cognitive, social, and sexual functioning. The adjustment of children has much more to do with the quality of the relationships between children and parents and the availability of economic and socioeconomic resources, according to the AAP.

"We believe that is now pretty well clinched, given how much research has happened and how similar the results are," Dr. Perrin said. "There are many other phenomena in children’s lives that are much more problematic or worrisome than what the gender or sexual orientation of their parents is."

[email protected]

On Twitter @MaryEllenNY