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Large child abuse study finds kids are safest in family with married biological parents

FamilyVoice South Australia director David d’Lima is asking state MPs to vote against a bill that would allow singles and same-sex couples to adopt children.

“A very large US study of child abuse of all kinds looked at substantiated reports in six different family types, among other factors,” Mr d’Lima said today.  “It found that by far the safest family type was where children were raised by their two married biological parents.  The most dangerous type was where one biological parent was cohabiting with an unrelated person. 

“Children released for adoption have suffered incredible loss,” he said.  “They cannot be raised by their married biological parents, but they deserve married adoptive parents with both mum and dad role models – the second-safest family type.”

David d’Lima said that fathers tend to parent differently from mothers, and that both are important.

“Gender matters,” he said.  “Men are different from women, and not only in their genitals.  For this reason I hope that the SA parliament will again reject moves to allow people to change the sex on their birth certificates, merely by presenting a GP’s letter saying they have received counselling.

“Such a move would trivialise what it means to be a man or a woman.  It would weaken current protections for women.  It would be a retrograde step for South Australia.”