LGBQ Parents and the Health Care System

Many lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer (LGBQ) people experience marginalization or discrimination within the health care system. When they become parents, this can also affect their children. Discrimination within the health care system may occur as a result of discriminatory attitudes or practices on the part of health care providers. However, more commonly, it occurs because formal systems within health care organizations are not inclusive of same-sex couples, and providers often make heterosexist assumptions about LGBQ parents and their families. This has the effect of marginalizing, and rendering invisible, LGBQ people, which may result in poorer standards of health care for LGBQ parents and their children.