NPR's Morning Edition uncritically reported lawmaker's claim ...

[meegbear]

that "over 10,000" studies show gay parents are "problematic for the child"

On the July 31 edition of National Public Radio's Morning Edition, reporter Jacqueline Froelich aired -- without challenge -- Arkansas Republican state Sen. Jim Holt's assertion that "there are thousands of studies, actually ... over 10,000" that show "the homosexual family or the environment is problematic for the child." Froelich aired Holt's remark during a report on the Arkansas Supreme Court's recent ruling that the state's regulation banning gays from becoming foster parents is unconstitutional. Froelich did not address Holt's dubious figure of 10,000 studies, which would be possible only if a new study reaching that conclusion had been released every day for the past 27 years. Froelich also failed to mention that numerous scientific studies, including research from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Psychological Association (APA), support the Arkansas Supreme Court's ruling.

The court held that the Arkansas Child Welfare Agency Review Board had violated the constitutional separation of powers doctrine by exceeding the scope of its authority -- which is to protect the health, safety, and welfare of foster children -- when it banned gays and lesbians from becoming foster parents in 1997. Froelich's report included comments from Arkansas ACLU Executive Director Rita Sklar, agreeing with the court's decision, and then aired a response to the decision from Holt:

HOLT: The judge had said that there are no studies that show that the homosexual family or the environment is problematic for the child. And there are thousands of studies; actually, I've got over 10,000 here that show just the opposite.

Froelich noted that Holt's "10,000 studies" figure is often cited by Focus on the Family founder James Dobson and that Holt "relied on that statistic and other data when he co-sponsored a failed bill seeking a ban on gay foster parents." Indeed, Dobson has cited the 10,000-study figure without explaining the source of his data. He made this claim in his book Marriage Under Fire: Why We Must Win This Battle (Multnomah, June 2004), in which he asserted that "(m)ore than ten thousand studies have concluded that kids do best when they are raised by loving and committed mothers and fathers" (Page 54). According to a Media Matters for America review of Marriage Under Fire, the footnote for this particular claim states that "any of these studies are either presented or represented in the following," subsequently listing a number of books and articles. Dobson did not provide any evidence documenting all 10,000 studies, but titles he did cite include: Growing Up with a Single Parent: What Hurts, What Helps (Harvard University Press, October 1994), Single Mothers and Their Children: A New American Dilemma (University Press of America, March 1988), "Long-Term Effects of Parental Divorce and Parent-Child Relationships, Adjustment, and Achievement in Young Adulthood," and "Children Who Don't Live with Both Parents Face Behavioral Problems." These examples suggest that many of Dobson's purported "ten thousand studies" did not examine parenting by gay individuals or couples at all but, rather, addressed child development in a single-parent home versus a two-parent home.

Froelich did not question the claim or mention any study to contradict it. In fact, numerous studies support the opposite conclusion.

<snip>

http://mediamatters.org/items/200608030003

[Glorfindel]

1. Sadly, a disturbing trend lately at NPR

Reporting right-wing opinions as fact and allowing them to stand unchallenged. What a shame. It's still the best news source around (except DU, of course), but, like almost everything else, it's falling under the influence of the Dark Side. Heaven help us all.

[Uppanotch]

3. "still the best news source around" --- by what standards?

NPR is the best news source compared to _______?

[Glorfindel]

4. My own standards, of course

If I wanted other people's opinions, I might watch TV news.

[xchrom]

2. what's sickening about this -- is first -- there are no 10,000 studies.

and second the great preponderance of evidence shows that gay folk are just parents -- no better and no worse than the rest of the population.

but the real connection here is -- gay folk being around children period.

this is how the conservative christian community is going to attack us.

this how they plant in the minds of the public a lie -- rewrite history -- put their own false imprint on the development of culture.