La Vie Childfree

Ok still on the Prop 8 trial –I wanted to share this 29 year old woman’s take on the matter. Here is the text of Kristen Quay of Oakland, California in a Letter to the editor in January 18th’s San Francisco Chronicle:

“Real threat: unmarried parents

I am 29 years old, college educated and in a professional career. Most of my friends and acquaintances share these same demographic traits.

Well over half of my acquaintances who have children share another interesting trait: They either are not married or were not married at the time their child was conceived. At that point, the only real incentive to marry seems to be to reap health insurance and financial benefits. Many never bother to get married at all.

I find it interesting that the Proposition 8 supporters do not seem to find this trend nearly so much of a threat

Continue reading “Twenty Somethings Weigh in on Marriage” »

The same sex-marriage court case continues to bring out great points that the public needs to be more educated about.  On Jan 15, the focus was on the gay/lesbian parent issue. 

Many of us already know that gay and lesbians make just as good parents as heterosexuals. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Michael Lamb, chairman of the Dept of Social and Developmental Psychology at Cambridge University England testified that more than 100 studies have found that “children who are raised by gay and lesbian parents are just as likely to be well-adjusted.”  Lamb also quoted the American Psychological Association’s policy statement that gays and lesbians are “as likely as heterosexual parents to provide supportive and healthy environments for their children.”  He also testified that seven other nationwide professional organizations have taken similar positions.

The discussion got me thinking about parenting in general. What does predict someone will be a good parent?  Continue reading “Who Make Good Parents?” »

While the Supreme Court decided the Prop 8 trial in San Francisco won’t be shown on utube, as you’d expect it’s sure getting lots of ink. Like childfree blogger Daisy Duke says about what she has heard about gay marriage on the radio recently, some of the ink makes my hair stand on end too… An article in the San Francisco Chronicle quotes Charles Cooper, lawyer for the Protect Marriage coalition as saying “extending marriage to same-sex couples would undermine its status as a  ‘pro-child’ institution, and redefine marriage as a private relationship between two adults who love each other.” 

Research tells us that marriage is already redefined– Continue reading “Marriage “Defined” vs. the Reality” »

I have received some interesting responses to the current On-the-Ground question: At what age did you decide not to have children?   A good deal of respondents indicated they were 20 or younger when they decided, and some shared how they tried to get a tubal ligation or vasectomy and could not find a doctor to do it.  One woman who responded wrote that she is 30 and still has this problem. This is similar to my own story–

Continue reading “Early Deciders Being Denied Tubal Ligation and Vasectomy” »