US pediatricians back gay marriage

CHICAGO -- The nation's most influential pediatricians group says gays should be allowed to marry to help ensure the health and well-being of their children.

The American Academy of Pediatrics' new policy, published online yesterday, cites research showing that the parents' sexual orientation has no effect on a child's development. Kids fare just as well in gay or straight families that are nurturing and financially and emotionally stable, the academy says.

The academy believes a two-parent marriage is best equipped to provide that kind of environment. Their policy says that 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 policy cites reports indicating that almost 2 million U.S. children are being raised by gay parents, many of them in states that don't allow gays to marry.

Officials with the group said they wanted to make the academy's views known before two gay marriage cases are considered by the U.S. Supreme Court next week.

"We wanted that policy statement available for the justices to review," said Dr. Thomas McInerney, the academy's president and a pediatrician in Rochester, N.Y.

The pediatricians' stance is not surprising. They previously joined other national groups, including the American Medical Association, in supporting one of the Supreme Court cases, which contends the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. The academy also previously supported adoption by gay parents.