NO on Prop 8 Campaign Releases Statement by 300 California Ped...( Leading Pediatricians Refute MD ...),Health

Leading Pediatricians Refute MD Who Signed Prop 8 Ballot Argument

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Oct. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- The NO on Prop 8 campaign today released a statement signed by more than 300 leading California pediatricians announcing their joint opposition to Prop 8 and concluding that the physician who signed the Prop 8 ballot statement, Jane Anderson, MD, in no way represents the majority of pediatricians on this issue.

The pediatrician statement took issue with Dr. Anderson, who identifies herself as a Fellow of the American College of Pediatricians. According to that organization's Web site, the American College of Pediatricians believes homosexuality is "preventable and changeable" and that "spanking can be an effective component of discipline." (See: http://www.acpeds.org)

The pediatrician's full statement against Prop 8 reads as follows:

"As pediatricians who care for children and families of California, we are writing to publicly deny any implication from the recently mailed "2008 California Voter" Guide that pediatricians support Prop 8. In the Guide, a rebuttal to the argument against Proposition 8 is signed by a pediatrician who is self-identified as a Fellow of the American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds). We wish to clarify that the ACPeds is an organization that does not in any way represent the majority of pediatricians' opinions regarding this initiative.

"The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), not the ACPeds, is the national organization with over 60,000 members that represents American pediatricians. The Board of Directors of the national office of the AAP commissioned a review of the relevant literature regarding child health in the context of same sex unions. The report was authored by a diverse panel of twelve experts from around the country and was published in the AAP's journal Pediatrics in 2006. It concludes,

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