In the Jan. 25 edition of Between The Lines, John Corvino wrote about the deprivation argument against same-sexed parenting, "(w)hatever you think of the merits of this argument (deprivation), it has absolutely nothing to do with same-sex marriage." Dr. Corvino is correct in concluding that this is indeed an attempt to confound the arguments against same-sex parenting with the institutional attacks on same-sex marriage. I would like to add to this point and cite some evidence about same-sex parenting.
In 2005, the American Psychological Association (APA), one of the nation's preeminent organizations for social science research and practice, published Lesbian and Gay Parenting. In this report, the APA states, "Not a single study has found children of lesbian or gay parents to be disadvantaged in any significant respect relative to children of heterosexual parents. Indeed, the evidence to date suggests that home environments provided by lesbian and gay parents are as likely as those provided by heterosexual parents to support and enable children's psychosocial growth." In other words, the challenges of parenting are neither intensified nor diminished by parental sexual orientation. While the challenges for lesbian and gay parents may differ from those of heterosexual parents, there is absolutely no research-based evidence that suggests lesbian and gay parents are any less capable of raising children.
Mark Lionetti
Ann Arbor
