You probably know the adult viewpoints on marriage, infertility, reproductive technologies, same-sex parenting, divorce, and adoption. But have you ever considered the kids’ perspective? Them Before Us has flipped the script on adult-centric attitudes toward marriage, parenthood, and reproductive technologies by framing these issues around a child’s right to be raised by both their mother and father. Set against a backdrop of sound research, the compelling stories throughout each chapter confirm that a child’s mental, physical, and emotional well-being depends on being loved by the two people responsible for their existence. It’s a paradigm shift that will impact the personal and the political, and reframe every marriage and family conversation across the globe. Them Before Us dispels many prevalent, harmful myths concerning children’s rights, such as: Kids need only love and safety—moms and dads are optional. - Love makes a family—biology is irrelevant. - Marriage is about adults—it has nothing to do with kids. - Children are resilient and will “get over” divorce. - Studies show “no difference” in outcomes for kids with same-sex parents. - Sperm and egg donor kids are fortunate because they are so wanted. - Surrogacy is a great way to help wannabe parents have a baby. - Reproductive technologies are just like adoption. Are you tired of a culture that views adults as victims in family matters, when it’s clear that kids are the ones who truly pay the price? If so, we are your people, and this is your movement. "Katy Faust's voice is as essential as it is unique, and her vital work over the last decade has culminated in this eminently well-reasoned and important book. Her focus is on three particular types of family dynamics that untold millions of children are increasingly being subjected to today: widespread divorce and ever-expanding stepfamilies, the contractually donor-conceived, and intentionally motherless and fatherless same-sex families. How are the children in these homes faring? Katy is one of the few people even asking this question, and her book provides the answers. She contends, correctly, that we must put Them (the children) Before Us (the adults)." — Glenn T. Stanton , director of global family formation studies at Focus on the Family "An essential read in moments like ours, Faust and Manning's Them Before Us offers an important intervention into a world increasingly defined by the needs, desires, and fashions of adults by foregrounding our most vulnerable: children . In so doing, they animate an altogether different conversation about marriage and family, one that centers on the care of children and the cultivating of a context that is most receptive to their needs and, critically, protective of their rights." — Mobeen Vaid , Muslim Chaplain at George Mason University "Katy Faust and Stacy Manning have a knack for defending important truths in a culture that wants to ignore them. In Them Before Us: Why We Need a Global Children's Rights Movement they provide a do-it-yourself manual for effectively defending children. This book will equip any reader who wants to join the movement." — Ryan T. Anderson , Ph.D., author of Truth Overruled: The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom "The breakdown of the intact, married family has been a disaster for American children. In Them Before Us, Katy Faust and Stacy Manning offer an incisive and deeply disturbing account of the ways in which children have paid the biggest price for the erosion of marriage. As they make clear, this is an issue that Republicans who are concerned about limited government must confront insofar as the size and scope of government balloons when the family falls. And this is an issue that Democrats who are concerned about poverty and the health of the American Dream must confront insofar as children raised in non-intact families are much more likely to grow up in poverty as children and end up poor as adults. This is an important book for everyone who is concerned about the welfare of children in America today." — W. Bradford Wilcox , Director, National Marriage Project, University of Virginia "Faust and Manning will take you on a comprehensive and heart-wrenching tour of the damage done to kids when adult desires are privileged over children's rights to their own biological mother and father. But they won't leave you in the ruins. At the end of each chapter, they'll offer practical suggestions to begin rebuilding a culture that prioritizes kids' best interests. Read Them Before Us , and be ready to do the 'hard things' adults must do so that children won't have to." — Mark Regnerus , Professor of Sociology, The University of Texas at Austin "Katy Faust's book is a must-read for those who are interested in the rights and needs of children. She speaks the hard truth. As someone who lived in a traditional and an alternative family structure in her childhood, she is empathetic to those who may have a differ