Do lesbian mommies = better adjusted kids?

Lara Ramsey (L) and her partner of 8 years, Jane Lohmann (R), play with their seven-month-old son, Wyatt Ramsey-Lohmann, at the City Clerk's office where they applied for a marriage license May 17, 2004 in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Are two moms better than one? The United States National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study, published this week in the journal Pediatrics, is the longest study of lesbian mothers and their children ever conducted in this country. It’s based on 78 children who were all born to lesbian couples through donor insemination, and who were interviewed at age 17. It turns out these kids out-score their “gold standard” peers on academic and social tests and have fewer difficulties with aggressive behavior and rule-breaking. Is this a no-brainer, or a threat to hetero marriage? And how might gay activists—and opponents—use the study in political advocacy and fundraising?

Are two moms better than one? The United States National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study, published this week in the journal Pediatrics, is the longest study of lesbian mothers and their children ever conducted in this country. It’s based on 78 children who were all born to lesbian couples through donor insemination, and who were interviewed at age 17. It turns out these kids out-score their “gold standard” peers on academic and social tests and have fewer difficulties with aggressive behavior and rule-breaking. Is this a no-brainer, or a threat to hetero marriage? And how might gay activists—and opponents—use the study in political advocacy and fundraising?

Guest:

Nanette Gartrell, MD, the principal investigator of the Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study. She also is a Williams Distinguished Scholar at UCLA School of Law and Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UCSF Medical School