Revised by Council October 2008
To be reviewed

All decisions relating to custody and parental rights should rest on the interest of the child. There is no evidence to suggest or support that parents who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender are per se different from or deficient in parenting skills, child-centered concerns, and parent-child attachments when compared with heterosexual parents. There is no basis on which to assume that a parent's sexual orientation or gender identity will adversely affect the development of the child.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender individuals historically have faced more rigorous scrutiny than heterosexual people regarding their rights to be or become parents. The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry opposes any discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity against individuals in regard to their rights as custodial, foster, or adoptive parents.