113 STAT. 2008 CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS—JULY 30, 1999
July 30, 1999
STUDY ON ADULT-CHILD SEXUAL
[H. Con. Res. 107]
RELATIONSHIPS—OPPOSITION
Whereas no segment of our society is more critical to the future
of human survival than our children;
Whereas children are a precious gift and responsibility given to
parents by God;
Whereas the spiritual, physical, and mental well-being of children
are parents' sacred duty;
Whereas parents have the right to expect Government to refrain
from interfering with them in fulfilling their sacred duty and
to render necessary assistance;
Whereas the Supreme Court has held that parents "who have
this primary responsibility for children's well-being are entitled
to the support of laws designed to aid discharge of that responsibility" (Ginsberg v. New York, 390 U.S. 629, 639 (1968));
Whereas it is the obligation of all public policymakers not only
to support, but also to defend, the health and rights of parents,
families, and children;
Whereas information endangering children is being made public
and, in some instances, may be given imwarranted or unintended
credibility through release under professional titles or through
professional organizations;
Whereas elected officials have a duty to inform and counter actions
they consider damaging to children, parents, families, and society;
Whereas Congress has made sexual molestation and exploitation
of children a felony;
Whereas all credible studies in this area, including those published
by the American Psychological Association, condemn child sexual
abuse as criminal and harmful to children;
Whereas, once published and allowed to stand, scientific literature
may become a source for additional research;
Whereas the Psychological Bulletin has recently published a
severely flawed study, entitled "A Meta-Analytic Examination
of Assumed Properties of Child Sexual Abuse Using College Samples", which suggests that sexual relationships between adults
and children are less harmful than believed and might be positive
for "willing" children (Psychological Bulletin, vol. 124, No. 1,
July 1998);
Whereas, in order to clarify any inconsistencies between the two
conclusions the authors of the study suggest and the position
of the American Psychological Association that sexual relations
between children and adults are abusive, exploitive, and reprehensible, and should never be considered or labeled as harmless
or acceptable, the American Psychological Association has issued
a public "Resolution Opposing Child Sexual Abuse";
Whereas the American Psychological Association should be
congratulated for publicly clarifying its opposition to any adultchild sexual relations, which will help to deny pedophiles from
citing "A Meta-Analytic Examination of Assumed Properties of
Child Sexual Abuse Using College Samples" in a legal defense.
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