Mercator Net – 2 Oct 2007 –
Dale O’Leary is an award-winning American journalist with a special interest in marriage and gender issues.
Research shows that children do best when raised by a mother and father. But what about those studies that show they do just as well with two mommies or daddies?
What is best for the children? The legal battles over marriage frequently revolve around this very question. Gay activists argue that many same-sex couples already have children, and these children need the protections afforded by legal recognition of their relationship. To support this line of argument, they present the courts with numerous studies claiming to prove that children raised by persons with same-sex attractions (SSA) are just as happy, healthy, and academically successful as children raised by their married biological parents.
In her book Children as Trophies? European sociologist Patricia Morgan reviews 144 published studies on same-sex parenting and concludes that it fosters homosexual behaviour, confused gender roles, and increased likelihood of serious psychological problems later in life. A French parliamentary report on the rights of children decried the “flagrant lack of objectivity” in much of the pro-gay research in this area, and concluded with the warning that “we do not yet know all the effects on the construction of the adopted child’s psychological identity. As long as there is uncertainty, however small, is it not in the best interest of the child to apply the precautionary principle, as is done in other domains?”
Read more http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/science_myths_and_same_sex_parenting