(The following statement first appeared in The Humanist of September/October 1980.)
Families, freely formed, are the wellspring of human interaction, compassion, love, productivity, and creativity that the individual bequeaths to the larger society. The family provides the security and germinates and fosters the altruism that makes civilization possible.
Though families play a vital role in the care, protection, and socialization of the young, it is the prior existence of the family that makes such parenting possible and effective. Families exist before and after the child and, increasingly today, without the child. The production and nurture of children are not the only purposes of the family, nor is the presence of children essential to the effective functioning of a family.
Any two people or group of people wishing to make a commitment to one another over time and to share resources, responsibilities, goals, and values should be considered a family, if they so consider themselves, and receive those benefits accorded families by society. Blood kinship should not be a requirement of family members, nor should marriage. By the same token, marriage should not be denied a couple wishing to make a legal commitment to each other. Society is strengthened not by restricting family membership but rather by encouraging the greatest possible participation in family groups.
Given the importance of the family to society, the welfare of the family and its members should have top priority in public planning. Education should provide a thorough preparation for family living, including practical and responsible information on sexuality and birth control, as well as training in parenting and interpersonal relations.
A safe, healthful environment, balanced nutrition, adequate housing, medical care, and quality education are minimum family requirements. Innovations in the workplace, such as shared jobs and flex time, should be explored as accommodations to the needs of working family members. Child-care programs, encouraged by government, for the children of working parents have been too long postponed.
The customs, regulations, and laws under which we live must be scrutinized for their impact on the family. No law should force incompatible families to stay together. And no law or regulation should require women to bear unwanted children. Children have a right to be wanted and a right to be born into the bosom of the family, not into an unnatural, nonloving atmosphere.
Government programs should encourage families. Although the system may need review, welfare, when needed by a family, should not be withheld merely because of the presence of an able-bodied male within the family. Taxation should not penalize married couples, nor should older couples wanting to marry be forced to give up Social Security and pension benefits in order to do so. Families wishing to care for older members within the home should be eligible for the same financial aid that is given to nursing homes performing the same services. We must stop penalizing and start rewarding homemakers who take responsibility for rearing tomorrow's generation. They should be entitled to the same insurance, disability, and social security benefits as other productive workers.
In our mobile society, uniform marriage and divorce laws are imperative. And these should eliminate from state codes all laws, regulations, and judicial interpretations that treat women and children as property. It is in this barbaric concept that violence within the family is rooted.
Equality for women and human rights for children should be the law of the land. Education should be geared to the prevention of abuse of women and children. Shelters and rehabilitative aid must be available to the victims of familial abuse and violence. Counseling should be required for all offenders.
Throughout history the family has changed and adapted to meet new conditions and has repeatedly pioneered advances in human cooperation, interaction, and understanding. Today's evolving families (often pluralistic, intergenerational, multi-racial, and multi-cultural) prove once again that the family is a creative, vital force that can meet the challenges of the future as it has met the demands of the past.
The Board of Directors
of the American Humanist Association
1980