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The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) supports civil marriage for gay and lesbian couples — as well as full adoption and foster care rights for all parents, regardless of sexual orientation — as the best way to guarantee benefits and security for their children. According to Benjamin Siegel, MD, FAAP, chair of the AAP Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health,“The AAP believes there should be equal opportunity for every couple to access the economic stability and federal supports provided to married couples to raise children.”
A great deal of scientific research documents there is no cause-and-effect relationship between parents’ sexual orientation and children’s well-being, according to the AAP policy. In fact, many studies attest to the normal development of children of same-gender couples when the child is wanted, the parents have a commitment to shared parenting, and the parents have strong social and economic support. Critical factors that affect the normal development and mental health of children are parental stress, economic and social stability, community resources, discrimination, and children’s exposure to toxic stressors at home or in their communities — not the sexual orientation of their parents.
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