The American Academy of Pediatrics,
which represents more than 60,000 professionals, for the first time
has endorsed gay marriage, saying it is in the best interest of the
children of gay parents.
The academy reviewed more than 60
scientific studies on the subject over the past four years, and the
result is a 10-page report which concludes that such unions help
guarantee rights, benefits and long-term security for children.
“There is an emerging consensus,
based on extensive review of the scientific literature, that children
growing up in households headed by gay men or lesbians are not
disadvantaged in any significant respect relative to children of
heterosexual parents,” the academy said.
Dr. Nanette Gartrell, who led a 2010
study which looked at the outcomes of children raised by lesbian
parents, told The
New York Times that “Marriage strengthens families and
benefits child development, and it also increases a parent's sense of
competence and security when they are able to raise children without
stigma.”
Dr. Ellen Perrin, a co-author of the
academy's new policy and a professor of pediatrics at Tufts
University School of Medicine, added that divorce is a critically
overlooked component of marriage.
“If people can't get married, then
they can't get divorce,” Dr. Perrin said. “That legal system
that exists to protect our most vulnerable, namely children, isn't in
play.”