The American College of Pediatricians is distressed that, in their quest for support from the voters, presidential candidates ignore the health and well-being of children. While it is not unusual for politicians to “kiss babies during the campaign and then kiss them off” after the election, it is worrisome that several of them are kissing them off even before their nomination.

Unrestricted abortion has been the law in our country since 1973. Millions of unborn children have been killed in the name of a putative “right to privacy.” In an effort to protect those babies born alive after a “botched” abortion, the Born Alive Infant Protection Act was passed in 2002. This legislation would require hospitals to care for infants who survive an abortion. One presidential candidate voted repeatedly against the Act, claiming that born alive legislation would impede the right to abort and would put an undue burden on the abortionist. A politician who does not value the life of a newborn infant cannot be expected to support what is best for children.

Another issue that concerns us greatly is the statement made in support of gay homosexual adoptions. There is no evidence-based science that recommends the rearing of children by other than what has come to be called the “traditional family,” consisting of a married (female) mother and (male) father. Children raised by homosexual parents are more likely to initiate sexual activity at an earlier age, be more sexually promiscuous and declare themselves homosexual than children raised by heterosexual parents. To promote alternative arrangements to traditional marriage is to do harm to the emotional and physical health of our children.

Our society once proposed that divorce was harmless to children as was the rearing of children by single parents. The Carnegie report, late in the last century, put those claims to rest, noting that children in these circumstances were proven to be at risk. We should not repeat our prior mistakes in our zeal for “political correctness.” These are our children, the future of our nation, not test cases in unregulated social experimentation.

May 17, 2003
Revised May 23, 2008


The American College of Pediatricians is a national medical association of licensed physicians and healthcare professionals who specialize in the care of infants, children, and adolescents. The mission of the College is to enable all children to reach their optimal, physical and emotional health and well-being. More information is available at www.BestforChildren.org.

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