Gay adoption -- new evidence

A report about a new, very well-conducted scientific study of the comparative developmental outcomes of adopted children raised by two lesbian moms, two gay dads, and two male-female couples has just been published in the journal Applied Develomental Science.

There have been some good studies in the past that showed that children raised by same-sex parents were just as well-adjusted psychologically as those of heterosexual couples. In an attempt to counter this evidence, opponents of same-sex parenting have trumpeted scientifically invalid studies that they claim showed otherwise. They would, for example, compare children raised by single lesbian mothers with children raised in conventional families with a mother and a father; and they would ascribe any deficiencies in the single parent children to the mother's being lesbian. They would then pontificate about a child "needing a father and a mother," without applying the same standard to children raised by straight single mothers.

In fact, to be valid the study would have had to compare children raised by single lesbian mothers with those raised by single straight mothers, and those raised by lesbian couples with those raised by male-female couples. Otherwise, the effects of single parenting are conflated with the effects, if any, of the sexual orientation of the parents.

But most people don't really understand what makes a "study" a scientifically valid one, and they -- including jurors -- are likely to believe the one that fits what they want to believe. They don't appreciate such differences as the fact that the American Academy of Pediatrics, the leading organization of pediatricians with 16,000 members, has a strong policy statement supporting gay parenting

In contrast, opponents will cite the opposite position of the American College of Pediatricians -- equally impressive sounding in its title -- as if they were two equal organizations with differing, equally valid, views. In fact, the "American College of Pediatricians" has about 200 members and was "founded,"and seems to have no other function, but to serve as a forum for a small band of anti-gay, activist pediatricians, and to put out anti-gay propaganda under its official-sounding name that is intended to be confused with the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Several factors make this new study more authoritative in ways that can easily be pointed out to non-scientists and to judges and jurors:

First, it was done by respected academic researchers at the University of Virginia and Georgetown University, and it is reported in a respected, peer-reviewed journal. The article: "Parenting and Child Development in Adoptive Families: Does Parental Sexual Orientation Matter?" is in Applied Develomental Science, 14(3):164-178.

Second, the methodology is impressive. They studied 106 preschool children, 27 raised by two lesbian moms, 29 raised by two gay fathers, and 50 raised by heterosexual parents. It considered not just reports from parents about their child's development, as many previous studies have done, but also observations by teachers and care-givers.

Their conclusion is that the quality of the parenting, not the sexual orientation of the parents, is what creates a psychologically healthy child. They go a step further -- and this is important: the authors are on record as saying that, based on their evidence, there is no justification for a public policy “for denying lesbian and gay prospective adoptive parents the opportunity to adopt children.”

It is also important, not only for lawmakers and jurors to have what can be considered a definitive study, but it is also important to have all this clarified for those more serious thinkers who simply haven't taken the time to read and study the results. A couple of years ago, a retired academic sociologist wrote a letter to the London Review of Books in which she made the same point about "studies show" that children with two parents are better adjusted, and therefore this was her argument against gay parenting. She had not stopped to think that she was conflating "two parents" with male-female parents and was lumping lesbian mothers in loving couples with young unwed mothers who had no family support.

I happened to see this, wrote a letter which the LRB published; and I received a nice email from the sociologist, apologizing for being misinformed and appreciative of my correcting her mistake.

This is important, because gay parenting is still a big issue in courts and in state laws. Currently, four states have laws explicitly prohibiting adoption by same-sex couples -- Florida, Mississippi, Utah -- and Arkansas, with a similar law that is being challenged in the courts. Many other states have various restrictions and ambiguous laws that are subject to bias in interpreting.

And I can't help pointing out with a note of glee that two of those states, Florida and Arkansas, were where Dr. George Rekers testified as the state's expert witness -- at huge expense to the taxpayers (reportedly $175,000 for the two states) -- when the laws were challenged in court. He is one of the founders and proponents of the above-mentioned shadowy American College of Pediatricians, and was on the Scientific Advisory Board of the National Association for Research and Treatment of Homosexuality. His testimony was influential in denying gay parents the right to adopt children in Florida and Arkansas -- often children that had been living with them as foster parents.

Subsequent to his successful testimony in those two states, Dr. Rekers gained notoriety a few monthes back as the anti-homosexual activist and highly paid "expert witness," who was caught with his rent-boy coming back from a European vacation, conceivably paid for by the taxpayer-funded fee he earned for his anti-gay testimony.

Ralph