Hobart Mercury - "Gay parents backed by new report" by AAP

A NEW report dispels the myth that children with gay or lesbian parents are disadvantaged by their parents ' sexuality.

Meet the Parents, a worldwide report summarising 25 years of research written for the Australian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby, was launched yesterday by Australian Medical Association president Kerryn Phelps.

Dr Phelps launched it at the Mardi Gras Fair Day in Sydney and said gay and lesbian parents were sick of hearing the ``misinformation and propaganda'' about raising children.

She said many in the community believed gay parents created difficulties for their children, leaving them worse off than children with heterosexual parents.

``The fact is that the sexuality of the parents has very little to do with how well the children do in those families,'' Dr Phelps said.

``The greatest weapon of the bigot is misinformation. The greatest weapon we have to combat that propaganda is the truth, evidence.''

She said the document should be distributed to legislators, the public and the media to ensure no one was allowed to ``get away with misinformation any longer''.

Report author Jenni Milbank said the report ``conclusively and comprehensively'' demonstrated there was no disadvantage in having a lesbian mother or a gay father.

Nathan McDonell, 11, from Canberra, said while his older brother was very conscious of what people thought of his mother's lesbian relationship, it did not bother him.

``I don't give a damn at all -- I mean, big whoop,'' he said.

``There are some people in the world who are gay, lesbian, but there's no big deal about it.''

Read More

Family Matters - "Lesbian parenting: issues, strengths and challenges" by McNair, R; Dempsey, D; Wise, S; Perlesz, A

The Lesbian and Gay Families Project is a new study of lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender and intersex families. This article focuses on aspects of the data collected from 136 women participants living in Victoria. The issues explored included family formation and methods of conception; reasons for choosing such methods; family structure including roles and responsibilities of the biological and non biological mothers and the biological father; levels of social and professional support; and an exploration of the self perceived strengths of and challenges for lesbian led families. Key findings are presented in each of these areas.

[Link: Original Article]
[Link: Original Article]

Read More

Family Matters - "School experiences of the children of lesbian and gay parents" by Ray, V; Gregory, R

Research suggests that the children of gay and lesbian parents have similar psychological adjustments to those children growing up in more traditional family structures. Nevertheless, these children may face some particular challenges. In this article the authors explore the school experiences of a small sample of children of gay and lesbian parents. They identify some common difficulties that these children confront, and suggest some possible approaches to overcoming them.

[Link: Original Article]
[Link: Original Article]

Read More

Hobart Mercury - "I want to be a great dad Croome plans baby with lesbian friend" by Martine Haley

TASMANIAN gay activist Rodney Croome hopes to be a great dad to a baby he plans for next year.

Mr Croome plans to father the baby with a lesbian friend within the next 18 months.

And the man who spearheaded the Tasmanian gay law reform struggle in the 1990s said yesterday they intended raising the child jointly.

He said the mother-to-be, who wants to remain anonymous, asked him more than 12 months ago if he would consider fathering a child with her.

``She made it clear she wasn't talking about a simple, anonymous sperm donor, but a full-on, full-time dad,'' Mr Croome said.

``I panicked a bit. My first thoughts were I haven't got enough money, I haven't got enough time, it would be too stressful and I like my sleep.

``And then I thought everyone at some stage is in that situation and if I was to wait for the right time, that time might not come.''

Although they have been friends for several years, the pair decided it was important they get to know each other even better before having a child.

``If we have a child together, we're going to be in a kind of relationship really, even though not romantic, for up to 20 years,'' Mr Croome said.

``So we felt it was important to get to know each other better, to

become a bit more a part of each other's lives and to see if, after having done that, we still thought it a good idea.

``We still do.'' He said it was likely the pair would ``start the process of conception'' soon.

``We won't be doing this the conventional way,'' he said.

``But we are not using IVF. There will be no doctors, no clinics.

``There is more than one way to skin a rabbit.''

Mr Croome, who lives with his gay partner in Hobart, was yesterday bemused by interest in his fatherhood plans.

``I guess I can understand the interest, especially in light of the current debate about fertility,'' he said.

He and the baby's mother -- who also has a partner -- were considering living together during the early stages of the baby's life.

``We are still talking about that. It's a possibility,'' he said.

``The optimum situation is we share the parenting equally but, of course, when it is a baby, that's not really possible unless we live together.

``We haven't finalised that yet because it involves a lot of issues like our partners, the dogs and cats.''

He said he would use his parents as role models for raising his child.

``My parents have given me much more than I can ever give them in return,'' he said.

``That is always the thing with parents and I feel the only way I can ever repay that debt is to give the same to someone else, my own child.''

``If I can repay that debt, just a portion of that debt that I owe my parents, with a child myself, then I will be happy.''

Before making the decision to have a child, he had extensive talks with a wide range of gay and lesbian couples and their children, he said.

He was pleasantly surprised that none of the children had experienced discrimination or felt they had ever been harassed because their parents were gay.

``If there is still discrimination against children of gays and lesbians, it's up to society as a whole to deal with that and try to remove that discrimination,'' he said.

Having a child meant producing ``something that goes beyond me''.

``I'm not doing it as a statement. That would be a ridiculous thing to do,'' he said.

``Obviously it brings up issues and I'm happy to address them as an activist. But in the end it is just our business.''

Read More

Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby of NSW - "Meet the parents: a review of the research on lesbian and gay families" by Jenni Millbank

This review was prepared for the Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby of NSW. It establishes that a considerable body of social science research now exists demonstrating that children from lesbian and gay families do not display any important differences in development, happiness, peer relations or adjustment from those children raised by heterosexual parents. Recent studies from both the UK and USA have shown that family processes, not family structures, are the main determinants of children's well being. These studies show that it is the quality of the relationships between adults in the household and between the adult/s and children which have the largest impact on the children.

[Link: Original Article]
[Link: Original Article]

Read More

Herald Sun - "Lesbians better parents - study" by Jen Kelly

LESBIAN couples make better parents than heterosexuals, research suggests.

IVF pioneer Carl Wood has published a paper detailing American research of several years ago to renew the push for all lesbians to be granted rights to infertility treatment.

The studies suggested lesbian couples made better parents because their children were more tolerant of diversity and more socially skilled.

Children of lesbians were also found to suffer far less parental sexual and physical abuse and incest than their peers.

``Women are more verbally fluent than males, so with two women bringing up a child, it has a greater chance of developing better conversation skills,'' Professor Wood said yesterday. ``The children of lesbians in the studies also had a broader view of life.''

Prof. Wood's claims have fuelled fresh debate over whether gay and lesbian couples should be able to raise children.

Australian Family Association national secretary Bill Muehlenberg said the great weight of studies suggested any combination other than a man and woman -- preferably married -- harmed the child.

``These children will do less well on almost every social indicator -- school performance, suicide rates, drug involvement and criminal involvement,'' he said.

The long-term damage to children of lesbians was unknown because the phenomenon was quite new and few offspring were past adolescence.

Victorian Gay and Lesbian Lobby spokeswoman Miranda Stewart said all research suggested gay parents were as good if not better at raising children.

``What's important in parenting is loving attention and consistent support for the child,'' she said.

``Determining what is a good parent shouldn't be linked to who you have sex with.''

Prof. Wood, who published his report in Australian Medicine, said the maternal instincts of two women may provide more love and care than other couples.

Children of lesbians usually were the product of carefully selected fathers, whereas 5 per cent of offspring of heterosexual couples were the product of adulterous relationships.

In such cases, a mother's guilt often harmed her relationship with the child and the father, he said.

Under Victorian law, only lesbians who can prove they are infertile can use IVF, so most are still forced to travel to New South Wales for treatment.

Prof. Wood's claims were based on a review of 12 studies investigating more than 300 children of gay and lesbian parents.

It showed they did not differ from other children in most aspects, including psychological health, social relationships, personality and maturity.

Prof. Wood also revealed he knew of lesbians who were using ``do-it-yourself'' donor insemination kits to become pregnant because they were banned from using reproductive technology.

Read More

Townsville Bulletin - "Gay couples `better prepared for parenthood'" by Craig Baxter

SAME sex couples put more thought into becoming parents than some ``normal'' couples and should not be denied access to IVF treatment, a Townsville gay woman says.

Jennifer Jefferies, owner of The Perfect Potion aromatherapy shop in Flinders Mall, says physiological constraints and society's prejudices meant same sex couples had to prepare thoroughly for parenthood.

``There are no accidents or surprise (pregnancies),'' Ms Jefferies said. ``We have to plan it all.

``And (because) we know our children might grow up in a bigoted area, we take it very seriously.''

Ms Jefferies and her partner do not have children, but would consider it in the future.

She said the opposition of the Prime Minister and the Member for Herbert Peter Lindsay to IVF access for same sex couples was ``really disappointing''.

She said the views of Mr Howard and Mr Lindsay were discriminatory.

``It's everyone's individual right to make a choice and have access,'' she said.

``I'm disappointed that it's the year 2000 and access is still denied.''

Last week John Howard moved to override the decision of a Victorian court allowing a single woman to undergo IVF treatment.

Mr Lindsay supported Mr Howard's stance, saying children needed a mother and a father.

But Ms Jefferies said a mum and dad did not guarantee a happy family.

Read More