MONTGOMERY — The American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) filed a brief Friday urging the Alabama Supreme Court to consider the well-being of children before deciding the legal ramifications and impact of Obergefell v. Hodges in the Yellowhammer State. The historic 2015 U.S. Supreme Court case which, in a 5-4 decision, declared that there is a federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage for all Americans.
Dr. Den Trumbull, College Past President and Alabama pediatrician said that the Alabama Supreme Court’s decision will have a major impact on children and families for generations to come.
“Every child needs a mother and a father. Same-sex marriage directly disenfranchises children of this right.”
ACPeds argued in its brief that if the Alabama Supreme Court accepts the Obergefell v. Hodges decision as legitimate and upholds it, this would deprive child of the “mother and father so essential – not only to their conception – but to their well-being.”
In the briefing, ACPeds argued that national studies point out that children raised by same-sex parents, do not fare as well as those with opposite-sex parents and many experience substantial harm. There is evidence, according to the group of pediatric doctors, of the fundamental value of the married, father-mother family unit to the optimal development of the child.
ACPeds states that, “there is legal, constitutional, and historical recourse to address the social injustice and constitutional travesty outlined in Obergefell.”
The ACPeds is urging the Alabama Supreme Court to reaffirm its acknowledgement that traditional husband/wife marriage is the law of the State and argues that it cannot be altered by judicial decree.
The entire brief can be read here.
