Prometheus 6

Quote of note:

Created as counterpoints to large, well-established medical organizations whose work is subject to rigorous review and who assert no political agenda, the tiny think tanks with names often mimicking those of established medical authorities have sought to dispute the notion of a medical consensus on social issues such as gay rights, the right to die, abortion, and birth control.

Part of the reason I've been going on and on about getting caught up in words instead of meaning, definitions instead of indications, is that it's left us as a society vulnerable to manipulations by organizations like The Center for Equal Opportunity, The Center for the Study of Popular Culture and The American College of Pediatricians and the Center for Consumer Freedom. Announcements led by such names sound much more portentious than saying they represent the opinions of these thirty or so rich guys.

Beliefs drive research agenda of new think tanks
Study on gay adoption disputed by specialists
By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff  |  July 31, 2005

WASHINGTON -- President Bush had a ready answer when asked in January for his view of adoption by same-sex couples: "Studies have shown that the ideal is where a child is raised in a married family with a man and a woman," the president said.

Bush's assertion raised eyebrows among specialists. The American Academy of Pediatrics, composed of leaders in the field, had found no meaningful difference between children raised by same-sex and heterosexual couples, based on a 2002 report written largely by a Boston pediatrician, Dr. Ellen C. Perrin.

But Bush's statement was celebrated at a tiny think tank called the Family Research Institute, where the founder, Dr. Paul Cameron, believes Bush was referring to studies he has published in academic journals that are critical of gays and lesbians as parents. Cameron has published numerous studies with titles such as "Gay Foster Parents More Apt to Molest" -- a conclusion disputed by many other researchers.

The president's statement was also welcomed at a small organization with an august-sounding name, the American College of Pediatricians. The college, which has a small membership, says on its website that it would be "dangerously irresponsible" to allow same-sex couples to adopt children. The college was formed just three years ago, after the 75-year-old American Academy of Pediatrics issued its paper.