Family Policy Resource Center
This is a collection of some of the very best articles, analysis and research available on critical family issues. A variety of materials is offered, some for a general audience and some for pro-family activists and key policy makers and their staffs or for anyone who wants a more in depth understanding of these issues.
FWI Policy Briefs
We publish a series of short, two page policy briefs on important issues
and problems.
They are also designed to be run off on your printer so you can help
spread the word and we encourage you to do that.
Abortion. This policy brief provides details on the negative impacts abortions have on the mother and explains the terminology and different types of abortions.
Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Many Americans thought that the ERA has been dead for decades, but liberals and feminists are trying to resurrect this threat to women and the family.
The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). This UN treaty has been described as “the ERA on steroids” and it is pending before the U.S. Senate.
What You MUST Know About Homosexuality. Issues related to homosexuality and so-called “homosexual rights” are driving much of the current worldwide assault on marriage, the family and family related issues. This policy brief gives you basic facts and information you must know.
Yogyakarta Principles. This policy brief is an expose of the “analysis” of the international homosexual activist community claiming that international law makes the expression of one’s sexual orientation, no matter what it is, a fundamental “human right.”
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This UN treaty, ratified by all UN member countries except the United States and Somalia, is undermining parental rights around the world.
Traditional Marriage is Essential for a Healthy Society. This brief summarizes why preserving the social institution of traditional marriage is essential to the future of any society and why the demands to legalize same-sex marriage are such a serious threat.
Why the U.S. Must Pass a Federal Marriage Amendment. Presents a brief summary of the political and legal situation with respect to protecting marriage in the U.S. and explains why the only certain way to preserve it is by ratifying an amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Pornography. Pornography is a growing scourage that can lead to addition and deviant behaviors that in turn can destroy families and can pose a danger to individuals and society. This policy brief provides an overview of the problem.
“Junk Science” and Same Sex Parenting. Homosexual activists and their allies claim that research proves there are no significant differences between children raised by same-sex couples and those raised by heterosexuals. As outlined in this brief, however, unbiased scholars who have examined this research are highly critical of it and they conclude that it is essentially useless in determining if there are differences.
General Family Policy Resources
The UN Doha Declaration
This is one of the most important United Nations family documents in over a generation. It is part of the UN’s recognition of the 10th Anniversary of the International Year of the Family and reaffirms the UN’s historic commitment to protecting and promoting the family. All too often, UN bureaucrats and UN committees, in concert with anti-family “non-governmental organizations,” try to push an anti-family agenda in their dealings with individual countries and at various UN meetings. The Doha Declaration is an invaluable tool in stopping these efforts.
The French Assembly Report
In early 2006 a commission composed of members of the French National Assembly issued the conclusions of their extensive investigation of what changes might be needed in French law and social policy to strengthen families and protect children. Among their recommendations: France should not legalize same-sex marriage, not allow same-sex adoption and not support artificial means for same-sex couples to have children. This was a particularly significant and surprising report because France is usually in the forefront of the effort internationally to promote these same policies and force them on other countries.
This is a 2 page summary of the pertinent findings related to marriage and children prepared by a Canadian pro-family group, Preserve Marriage.
This is the English translation of the Executive Summary of the Assembly’s report.
The
Evolution of the Family in Europe 2007.
Prepared by the International Policy Institute, this study provides an overview of the problems and pressures facing the family in Europe along with some recommendations about what can and should be done to protect and promote families as an answer to many of Europe’s social problems.
The Case Against Same-sex Parenting
Decision of the Irish High Court Rejecting Same-sex Marriage
This is a landmark decision by the Irish High Court rejecting the challenge to Ireland’s law limiting marriage to a man and a woman that had been filed by two lesbian Irish citizens who were demanding that their Canadian same-sex marriage be recognized in Ireland. In one part of this decision, the justices went into detail expressing concern about the impact same-sex marriage would have on children and reviewed the social science data underscoring the importance of children having both a mother and a father.
Like a number of professional associations, the AAP has taken positions on same sex issues based far more on political correctness and the demands of the activists in their ranks than on the facts or the science. Dr. Quick’s testimony in the Iowa court case Varnum et al v Brien outlines the problems with the process and the data used by the AAP to reach its position.
Defense of Marriage Policy Resources
Marriage and the Public Good: Ten Principles
Published by the Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, New Jersey, this is an excellent medium length summary of the Social Science-based case for preserving marriage as only between a man and a woman. It is the product of collaboration between scholars in a wide range of academic disciplines and seeks to broaden the debate over marriage to focus on the lessons of the social sciences and recent social experiences to make a conclusive case for preserving marriage. The entire 57 page booklet is available here in html format and in pdf format.
Articles by Richard Wilkins
(Note: Richard Wilkins is professor of U.S. constitutional law and currently on leave from the Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School and serving as Managing Director of the Doha Institute for Family and Development. He is one of the most influential and widely respected advocates of pro-family policy at the international level and in the U.S.)
Government
Structure, Marriage and the Constitution:
What all Americans should understand
Richard Wilkins states flatly “Unless the American people amend the Constitution of the United States, marriage – in very short order – will no longer be a union between a man and a woman but, instead, a union of any two, three, four or more consenting adults.” An excellent brief summary of why Americans must amend their federal constitution if they hope to preserve marriage as only between the a man and a woman.
Articles by Monte Stewart
(Note: Monte Stewart, is currently president of the Marriage Law Foundation and is an internationally recognized scholar on marriage law and policy. He clerked for the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, has served as a U.S. Attorney, taught law and been appointed a Special Assistant State Attorney General.
Marriage Debates. The California Marriage Case: Interests of the State
This is the best short (only 11 pages) summary of why it is important to preserve the social institution of marriage as only the union of a man and a woman and why all of the legal arguments made by those demanding that same-sex "marriage" be legalized are invalid.
Judicial Redefinition of Marriage
This is a detailed examination of marriage law and policy based on Mr. Stewart’s 2004 post-graduate degree thesis at Oxford University. It was published in the September, 2004 Canadian Journal of Family Law and is widely regarded as one of the definitive reviews and analysis of marriage law and policy in the English-speaking world.
Genderless Marriage, Institutional Realities and Judicial Elision
Originally published in the Duke University Law Journal, this article is especially valuable because Mr. Stewart identifies, examines and thoroughly refutes each of the arguments commonly being made by those advocating legalization of same-sex marriage.
Dr. Brad Wilcox, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia.
Why Marriage Matters: Marriage, Lone Parenthood, Cohabitation, and Child Well-being in the West
This is his excellent Power Point presentation, "Why Marriage Matters: Marriage, Lone Parenthood, Cohabitation, and Child Well-being in the West," that he delivered at the World Congress of Families IV in Warsaw, Poland in May of 2007.
The Effects of Marriage on Health: A Synthesis of Recent Research Evidence
This report by the United States Department of Health and Human Services concludes that “A burgeoning literature suggests that marriage may have a wide range of benefits, including improvements in individuals' economic well-being, mental and physical health, and the well-being of their children.” It summarizes that literature in an easy to understand way.
Resources on Homosexuality
"What Research Shows" Executive Summary
"What Research Shows" is the most comprehensive scholarly review ever done of more than 125 years of clinical experience and research into the nature of homosexuality, its treatment and the many health problems associated with the homosexual lifestyle. The research and clinical experience shows conclusively that homosexuals are not "born that way," that it can be successfully treated, that the therapy is not harmful and that there are a wide range of mental and physical health problems associated with the homosexual lifestyle.
