(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) A South Dakota lawmaker recently implied that traditional, two-parent families were “dangerous” and “un-American” while attacking the Family Heritage Alliance for saying that the safest place for a child is a married home with a mother and a father.
State Rep. Erin Healy, a Democrat, even went as far as calling the Christian, pro-values organization an “extremist group” in a tweet posted Monday, the Daily Caller reported.
Extremist group Family Heritage Alliance said this morning that the safest place for kids are in families that have a married mom and dad. What a dangerous and un-American belief.
— Representative Erin Healy (@RepErinHealy) February 13, 2023
It was unclear exactly what comments the third-term congresswoman was referencing as she did not respond or link to anything directly in her tweet.
FHA works with churches and organizations with similar values to help South Dakota become a state “where God is honored, religious freedom flourishes, families thrive, and life is valued,” according to its website.
Several Healy critics came to the defense of the organization on Twitter.
“This is just true though,” said one user. “Why is it dangerous to say what is true?”
“Yeah, it’s only backed up by statistics from every time it’s studied,” said user Can of Spam. “But why trust the science?”
“So, what is the safest family situation for kids?” user Karl Dierenbach pressed. “Are kids safer when there’s just a single mom? Is having a single parent exactly as good for a child on average as having two parents?”
A 2010 study performed by the Department of Health and Human Services found that children whose single parents had a live-in partner saw far more abuse and neglect than children living with their married biological parents.
Actually, when it comes to abuse, the safest place for kids is an intact, biological married family. See, e.g., this federal report on child abuse and neglect: https://t.co/WT8B2ubXUz https://t.co/eYzEyAYREX pic.twitter.com/am150tbco3
— Brad Wilcox (@BradWilcoxIFS) February 14, 2023
Children whose single parents had a live-in partner also saw much greater rates of physical and sexual abuse compared to children in any other living situation.
According to the study, 15.4 out of every 1,000 of kids whose single parents have live-in partners were victims of physical abuse and 12.1 per 1,000 experienced sexual abuse. Comparatively, kids living with their married, biological parents experienced these phenomena 2.5 and 0.7 out of 1,000 times, respectively.
Healy has come out against traditional families before, saying she was “disgusted” with “fundamentalist groups who only believe in nuclear families” in her state for not passing a bill that would legalize gay marriage in South Dakota.
The grip from fundamentalist groups who only believe in nuclear families is strong at our state legislature today. I am disgusted by the extremist opposition we heard today and disappointed we couldn't pass such a simple, important bill. https://t.co/rxVInLTGjA
— Representative Erin Healy (@RepErinHealy) February 13, 2023
She also refers to “women” as “people who menstruate.”
On Tuesday, I pitched HB 1159 to exempt menstrual products from the state sales tax. Not having access to products deprives people who menstruate of their basic dignity.
— Representative Erin Healy (@RepErinHealy) February 8, 2023
