As our Mission Statement declares, "Family Research Council champions marriage and family as the foundation of civilization, the seedbed of virtue, and the wellspring of society." Properly understood, "families" are formed only by ties of blood, marriage, or adoption, and "marriage" is a union of one man and one woman. We believe that the law should recognize only these traditional definitions of marriage and family and that public policy should encourage formation of such families and discourage alternative "family" forms. A large and still growing body of research shows that children do best when raised by their own biological mother and father who are committed to one another in a lifelong marriage, and that adults also thrive when in such a marriage. The family should be respected as a largely autonomous sphere of self-government, not as something inferior to the civil government.

Family Structure

Family Research Council believes, and social science has now clearly demonstrated, that children do best when raised by their own biological mother and father who are committed to one another in a lifelong marriage. Indeed, the data demonstrate that adults also thrive in this same family structure. Other forms of the family arise from rejection or ambivalence between the parents, before or after marriage. This may include ambivalence about marriage (cohabitation), or the rejection by one of the parents of the other, as is the case in divorce, remarried step families (where there is almost always a history of rejection for at least one of the spouses), single parenthood, or step-cohabiting parenthood.

FRC strongly supports adoption, particularly as an alternative to abortion, single parenthood, or foster care. The purpose of adoption is not to provide children for adults who want them, but to provide for children families that give them the experience of intact married family life as much as possible. Adoption policy should therefore include a primary preference for placing children with a married mother and father as long as such are available.

Resources:

• Ten Facts About Same-Sex 'Marriage' by Timothy J. Dailey, Ph.D.
• The California Supreme Court's Edict Redefining Marriage Will Affect All Americans by Christopher J. Gacek, Ph.D.
• The battle has just begun by Timothy J. Dailey, Ph.D.
• The Future of Marriage by David Blankenhorn, M.A. [Audio/Video lecture]
• DOMA Won't Do It: Why the Constitution Must Be Amended to Save Marriage by Dr. Gerard V. Bradley and William F. Saunders, J.D. [Brochure]
• The Slippery Slope of Same-Sex "Marriage" by Timothy J. Dailey, Ph.D. [Brochure]
• Deterring Divorce by Bridget E. Maher, M.A. [Brochure]
• Testimony of Peter Sprigg to the Maryland House of Delegates (February, 28 2008) [Testimony]
• Testimony by Peter Sprigg to the Maryland State Senate on Senate Bill 689 "Domestic Partnerships" (February 14, 2008) [Testimony]
• Testimony by Peter Sprigg to the Maryland State Senate on Senate Bill 168 "Covenant Marriage" (February 14, 2008) [Testimony]
• Sacred Vows, Public Purposes by Dr. W. Bradford Wilcox
• Rebuilding America by Ken Blackwell [Book]
• Family Portrait by Bridget E. Maher, M.A.
• Amicus Brief: Lewis v. Harris
• Amicus Brief: Andersen v. King County
• Amicus Brief: Kerrigan v. State of Connecticut, Dept. of Public Health
• Amicus Brief: Hernandez v. Robles, Samuels v. Dept. of Health, Kane v. Marsolais, and Seymour v. Holcomb
• Amicus Brief: Gitanjali Deane et al., v. Frank Conaway, et al
• Amicus Brief: Fausey v. Hiller
• Amicus Brief: Janice M. v. Margaret K.
• External Web Resources

Family Economics

The family is the great generator, and the intact family the greatest generator, of human capital (knowledge, attitudes, skills and habits of the individual), and of much financial savings and capital as well. The vast majority of small businesses (out of which eventually grow the large businesses of the nation) begin as family businesses, started on the savings of family and relatives, and on the human capital formed by parental investment in education of children.

The principle of fairness applies to the tax treatment of the family: it should get the same deductions as business does in the tax code for similar investments in human capital. Further, per-child tax breaks are important in encouraging the birth of children not only for the solvency of Social Security and Medicare but also to ensure the well formed workforce needed by modern economies. FRC also believes that the two-worker parent family should not be favored (as it presently is) over the family with one parent at home raising the children, nor that the public school parent should be fiscally favored over the private school parent or the home school parent, especially as these two deliver superior outcomes.

Resources:

• Love Is Not Enough: Toward the Recovery of a Family Economics by Dr. Allan C. Carlson
• Statewide Health Insurance Exchange: The Rationale and the Reality [InFocus paper]
• What is So Distinctive about Massachusetts Health Care Reforms? [InFocus paper]
• Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance: The Single Largest Tax Subsidy in the Federal Budget [InFocus paper]
• Family Coverage [Insight paper - PDF]

Parental Rights

FRC believes that both the responsibility and the authority for raising children rest primarily with their biological or adoptive parents. Government should empower parents to control the upbringing of their children and minimize its interference with the exercise of parental authority, except in cases of demonstrable abuse or neglect. Specifically, public policy should protect the right and maximize the power of parents to choose the form of education they wish for their children, be it public schools, secular or religious private schools, or home schooling. Public schools should avoid undermining parental authority or interfering with transmission of parental values to their children. Medical procedures should not be performed on minors without parental consent, except in cases of medical emergency or public health necessity. The right of parents to impose necessary discipline, including spanking, upon their children should not be infringed.

Resources:

• Gardasil: What Every Parent Should Know About the HPV Vaccine by Moira Gaul, M.P.H.
• The HPV Vaccine and School Mandates: Questions and Answers by Moira Gaul, M.P.H.