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Revision as of 09:20, 18 November 2010 by Destinero (talk | contribs) (add reference to the Supreme Court of Iowa from last year dealing with the issue)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) is a medical association of religous conservative pediatricians and other healthcare professionals in the United States. The College was founded in 2002 by Dr. Joseph Zanga together with 100 dissenting members of the American Academy of Pediatrics in rejection of AAP's statement of support for LGBT parental rights. Although the organization does not disclose its member count, as of May 2010, It was estimated to have about 200 members. Zanga has described ACP as a group "with Judeo-Christian, traditional values that is open to pediatric medical professionals of all religions who hold true to the group's core beliefs: that life begins at conception; and that the traditional family unit, headed by an opposite-sex couple, poses far fewer risk factors in the adoption and raising of children." However the latter view find no support in the scientific research literature. The quality and breadth of research available, as well as the results of the studies performed about gay parenting and children of gay parents, is robust and has provided the basis for a consensus in the field accepted far beyond dispute there are no differences in the parenting of homosexuals or the adjustment of their children. According to the Maine Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics "Those who claim that children need a biologically related mother and father to flourish are either ignorant of the scientific literature or are misrepresenting it or both. With all respects people are entitled to their beliefs and even their biases but it is plainly wrong to call those beliefs and biases science."
Issue positions
The positions taken by the American College of Pediatricians are socially conservative. These positions include:
- The prohibition of parenting by homosexuals
- The limiting of children's access to television and other media
- Opposition to legislation requiring HPV vaccines
- Opposition to the legalization of marijuana
- Selective use of corporal punishment
- Opposition to abortion
Opposition
PFLAG identifies the American College of Pediatricians as an anti-equality organization, describing the group as "small splinter group of medical professionals who do not support the mainstream view of the American Academy of Pediatricians (AAP) that homosexuality is a normal aspect of human diversity."
Francis S. Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health, made the following statement regarding the American College of Pediatricians on April 15, 2010: "It is disturbing for me to see special interest groups distort my scientific observations to make a point against homosexuality. The American College of Pediatricians pulled language out of context from a book I wrote in 2006 to support an ideology that can cause unnecessary anguish and encourage prejudice. The information they present is misleading and incorrect, and it is particularly troubling that they are distributing it in a way that will confuse school children and their parents."
In 2010, a letter and "fact sheet" about teen sexual orientation and gender confusion, challenged as non-factual by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association, were mailed to 14,800 school superintendents on behalf of Tom Benton, president of the American College of Pediatricians. The letter primarily addressed same-sex attraction, and recommended that “well-intentioned but misinformed school personnel” who encourage students to “come out as gay” and affirm them as such may lead the students into “harmful homosexual behaviors that they otherwise would not pursue.” The letter also stated that gender identity disorder will typically disappear by puberty “if the behavior is not reinforced.”
The American College of Pediatricians filed an amicus brief in Kathryn Kutil and Cheryl Hess v. Hon. Paul M. Blake, Jr., Judge, et al. The National Association of Social Workers also filed a brief in that case, in which it described the College as a "small faction", and "out of step with the research-based position of the AAP and other medical and child welfare authorities."
References
- ^ Pro-Life Pediatric Group Stands Contrary to Established American Academy of Pediatrics
- "History" (PDF). American College of Pediatricians.
- Kranish, Michael (2005-07-31). "Beliefs drive research agenda of new think tanks". boston.com. Retrieved 2007-10-21.
- Pinto, Nick (26 May 2010). "University of Minnesota professor's research hijacked". Minneapolis City Pages. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
- Michael Lamb, Affidavit – United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (2009)
- Elizabeth Short, Damien W. Riggs, Amaryll Perlesz, Rhonda Brown, Graeme Kane: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Parented Families – A Literature Review prepared for The Australian Psychological Society
- Case No. S147999 in the Supreme Court of the State of California, In re Marriage Cases Judicial Council Coordination Proceeding No. 4365, Application for leave to file brief amici curiae in support of the parties challenging the marriage exclusion, and brief amici curiae of the American Psychological Association, California Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, National Association of Social Workers, and National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter in support of the parties challenging the marriage exclusion
- Canadian Psychological Association: Brief presented to the Legislative House of Commons Committee on Bill C38 By the Canadian Psychological Association June 2, 2005.
- Children's Development of Social Competence Across Family Types
- Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida, July Term, A.D. 2010 Florida Department of Children and Families, Appellant, vs. In re: Matter of Adoption of X.X.G. and N.R.G., Appellees.
- https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cand/09cv2292/files/09cv2292-ORDER.pdf Perry v. Schwarzenegger]
- Varnum v. Brien
- Dr. Dan Summers, American Academy of Pediatrics, Maine Chapter
- "Position Statements". American College of Pediatricians. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
- "Anti-Equality Organizations". PFLAG. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
- "Statement from NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., in Response to the American College of Pediatricians". 2010-04-16. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
- Horton, Greg (June 23, 2010). "Doctors debate the facts surrounding sexual orientation and gender confusion". Oklahoma Gazette. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
- http://www.allbusiness.com/society-social/families-children-family-law-child/12301412-1.html
- Brief of Amici Curiae National Association of Social Workers, p. 15