The American Academy of Pediatrics has come out with a new policy advocating gay marriage as a means of helping to ensure the health and well being of children with same sex parents.
“If a child has two gay parents who choose to marry, it is in the best interests of their children that legal and social institutions allow and support them to do so.”
The Academy also stated that it found that, in general, “kids fared just as well in gay or straight families that are nurturing and emotionally and financially stable,” and that “a two-parent marriage is best equipped to provide that kind of environment.”
The policy cites reports indicating that they are approximately 2 million children in the US currently being raised by gay parents, many in states that don’t permit gays to marry.
The announcement comes as two gay marriage cases are due to be heard by the US Supreme Court next week, one of which contends that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional.
“We wanted that policy statement available for the justices to review,” commented Academy president Dr. Thomas McInerney, a pediatrician from Rochester, NY.
Note: The American Academy of pediatrics also supports adoption by gay parents.
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