Out of Focus on the Family 61
“ Millions of new dependents ”? Millions of newly married ( heterosexual ) dependents are added each year . It ’ s more than a bit difficult to believe that the total number of gay Americans who choose to marry could possibly result in millions more . And even if it did , does that legitimate and justify excluding them from the civil institution called “ marriage ” and the benefits it confers ? They too are taxpaying citizens .
“ Every HTV-positive patient . . .” Playing on stereotypes and fears is a standard MO for faith-based political activists . Aside from the fact that heterosexuals also have HTV and most insurance companies have “ preexisting condition ” clauses , should a genome scan be performed on every woman who wants to marry to make sure she does not carry the genes that predispose her to breast cancer ? How about refusing to insure anyone who gets a suntan in the summer ? It ’ s a fact that such exposure to the sun causes skin cancer , which is very expensive to treat .
It ’ s also a fact that marriage lowers health risk and , therefore , health costs . A May 2004 news release from the American Heart Association attests this . It detailed the research of Dr . Stephen Morewitz , who presented his finding in “ Marital Status as a Risk Factor for Hypertension Impairment ” to the American Heart Association ’ s 5th annual Scientific Forum on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke , Washington , May 16-17 , 2004 . Dr . Morewitz and his researchers analyzed data from the National Health Interview Survey , which included information from more than 30,000 adults . The study concluded that married persons are less likely to have high blood pressure or suffer from related health problems ( www . americanheart . org ). The same conclusion was reached by Gary Cohan , M . D ., FACP , and expressed in his article “ Rx : Marriage ,” posted on Advocate . com , March 12 , 2004 .
But knowledge of the health benefits of marriage is not new . E . J . Graff , in her book What Is Marriage For ?, quotes British public-health statistician William Farr , who remarked in 1858 that “ Marriage is a healthy state . The single individual is much more likely to be wrecked on his voyage than the lives joined together in matrimony .” Graff added that :
The data have been eerily consistent ever since : whether measuring by death rate , morbidity ( health problems such as diabetes , kidney disease , or ischemic heart disease ), subjective or stress-related complaints ( dizziness , shortness of breath , achiness , days in bed during past year , asthma , headaches ), or psychiatric problems ( clinical depression or debilitating anxiety after a cancer diagnosis ), married people do better than unmarried — single , widowed , divorced . ( 48 )