Clinical Psychologist Lists 5 Ways
Same-Sex 'Marriage' Harms Children Psychologically
SAN DIEGO, October 16, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Same-sex marriage is
one of the hottest and most controversial domestic issues in America. As a
result, many professional organizations have stepped into the fray and taken
formal positions with the hope of influencing public opinion and policy. One
such group is the American Psychological Association (APA) that has officially
endorsed the legalization of same-sex marriage.
Many psychologists, however, including members of the APA, disagree with
the organization's pro-same-sex marriage position. One of those dissenters is
Trayce Hansen, Ph.D., a licensed clinical psychologist and former member of the
APA, who opposes same-sex marriage on the grounds it will be detrimental to the
children of same-sex couples as well as to other children who will be
influenced by the all-types-of-marriage-are-equivalent social message.
Dr. Hansen's opposition to same-sex marriage is explained in her recently
released opinion article titled "Love Isn't Enough: Five Reasons Why
Same-Sex Marriage Will Harm Children." In the article she expounds on
five reasons why it is in the best interest of children to be raised by a
married mother and father:
First, children require mother-love and father-love, both of which are equally
important but qualitatively different. Second, children progress through
certain developmental stages during which they need a mother, and other stages
when they need a father. Third, children require an opposite-sexed parent to
help them moderate their own gender-linked inclinations. Fourth, same-sex
marriage will increase sexual uncertainty and sexual experimentation by young
people. And finally, if same-sex marriage is permitted, then other types of
marriages such as polygamous and polyamorous ones also would have to be allowed
leading to more confusion in the lives of children.
In her article Dr. Hansen expresses compassion for homosexuals who desire
marriage. But she nonetheless concludes, as does 2,000 years of accumulated
cultural wisdom, that the ideal marital and parental configuration is a mother
and father and that disregarding such wisdom would be tantamount to using
children as guinea pigs in a radical and risky experiment.
The article is available at http://www.drtraycehansen.com/Pages/writings_samesex.html