CMA physicians: Supreme Court marriage decision impacts children, First Amendment freedoms

The Christian Medical Association, the nation's largest faith-based association of doctors today issued the following statement on the Supreme Court's decisions regarding marriage:

CMA CEO Dr. David Stevens noted, "The Supreme Court failed to recognize that 'We the people' should decide marriage policy. Activist judges with an agenda have been foisting their views on the people--based not on the original Constitution or the duly registered will of the people--but on what these judges imagine their progressive society should look like. Yet 38 states have affirmed that marriage is between a man and a woman. Regardless of this Court's decision, the debate on marriage will continue.

"Regardless of the shifting opinions of judges, 'We the people' recognize that certain truths about marriage remain self-evident. Simple biology and observation shows us that marriage is based upon the biological fact that reproduction depends on a man and a woman and upon the reality that children need a mother and a father in a stable marriage. Same-sex "marriage" undermines the need of children to understand gender and to benefit from the unique contributions of a man and of a woman to a child's development.

"We as physicians have long recognized that the most important function of marriage is to protect the needs of children--not simply to fulfill the emotional desires of adults.

"The best research shows that children consistently experience the most positive outcomes with a Mom and a Dad and too often experience negative outcomes in same-sex households. When some research has attempted to convince us otherwise, rigorous examination of those studies has uncovered fatal research flaws, most likely the result of presuppositions and political agendas that undermined objectivity.

"Some activists, both in the courts and in public policy, appear intent on forcing people of faith to bow to a new and radical viewpoint that ignores our faith convictions and the testimony of millennia regarding marriage. Such pressure inevitably threatens religious freedom, as same-sex relationship advocates insist that conformity to their ideology trumps First Amendment speech, religious liberty and conscience freedoms.

"For millennia, governments have recognized marriage because the institution uniquely benefits society. Parents teach children to be good citizens, and intact traditional families remain one of the best predictors of positive social indicators and outcomes. When government recognizes marriage, it protects children by encouraging men and women to commit to each other and to take responsibility for the care and well-being their children. When a government disregards these benefits and attempts to redefine marriage as rooted in anything other than the union of one man and one woman, anyone can assert any  relationship as marriage, no matter how bizarre.

"We will continue to advocate for marriage and the children protected by marriage."