But somehow, that value of “the best interest of the child” goes out the window when it comes to same-sex parenting (or any parenting from sperm donors and surrogacy). At that point, it’s okay to deny a child the other parent, to purposely raise him without a father or a mother.

Suddenly, we decide a child actually doesn’t need his father and mother in his life. All that matters in same-sex parenting is the desires and needs of the adults. They determine what the family looks like. They determine the child’s identity. They determine what the child needs and doesn’t need. It’s all about the adult without a thought to the real needs of the child.

By definition in many states, such intentional treatment of a child classifies as emotional abuse, a form of child neglect. According to childwelfare.gov, emotional abuse/child neglect is “injury to the psychological capacity or emotional stability of the child as evidenced by an observable or substantial change in behavior, emotional response, or cognition” and injury as evidenced by “anxiety, depression, withdrawal, or aggressive behavior.”

Many children of same-sex parents who have been purposely denied knowing their parent have suffered from depression and anxiety, a point made prior to Sullins’ study in a study published in Social Science Research. Those researchers also found that children of homosexual parents “are more likely to suffer from depression,” “report less safety and security in their family of origin,” and “are an astonishing 10 times more likely to have been ‘touched sexually by a parent or other adult caregiver.’”