Newswise — Jason Patric, the actor (best known for his roles in Lost Boys and Speed 2: Cruise Control) and activist, who is fighting to be an equal parent, will join three nationally known parenting experts in a virtual media conference Wednesday, June 4, the week leading up to Father’s Day.

This online event comes at a time when 53% of women under 30 who have children are not married*. That statistic predicts a generation of children with little or no father involvement – a potential threat to society and a troubling development for America’s children.

MEDIA EVENT WILL FEATURE:

* Jason Patric – actor, activist, and founder of Stand Up for Gus

* Dr. Warren Farrell -- author of Father and Child Reunion

* Georgialee Lang -- Leading Women for Shared Parenting

* Dr. Ned Holstein – founder and chair of the National Parents Organization WHEN:

Wednesday, June 4 4 pm – 5 pm EDT

WHERE:

Online via www.newswise.comJournalists must pre-register; click here to register: http://bit.ly/1prJ5of

Among issues the four speakers will explore:

* Why aren’t more fathers more involved with raising young children – and where have all the fathers gone?

* What are the implications for America’s future? * Are there larger issues involved in Stand Up for Gus and Jason Patric’s battle for co-custody of his son? Or is this just about cases of in vitro fertilization?

* How are women becoming a political force for the equal involvement of both parents?

*What role do family courts play in keeping fathers apart from their children

* Any and all questions from media.

KEY QUOTE:

Warren Farrell says: "Today we consider it unfathomable that the world of work could neglect the contributions of women. We will soon consider it unfathomable that the world of our children is neglecting the contributions of their dads. The result is overburdened moms; fathers who feel unvalued; children doing worse in more than thirty areas in which they could be excelling."

ISSUES & ANGLES:

Issues and story angles the presenters will discuss during the online media conference:

--Jason Patric, actor, activist and founder of Stand Up For Gus; www.standupforgus.com -- Everyday-life examples of what he and Gus did together that Gus has been deprived of for more than a year;-- Why he’s fighting for Gus and all the kids who are being deprived of their dad; -- What he’s learned about how the system treats dads.

--Warren Farrell, PhD, author Father and Child Reunion; www.warrenfarrell.biz -- What the research shows about why children do better when fathers are equally involved;-- What dads do that provides checks and balances to what moms do – and why those differences matter;-- The conditions that must prevail for a child raised in a non-intact family to do as well as a child raised in an intact family.

 --Georgialee Lang, J.D., of Leading Women for Shared Parenting; www.lw4sp.org -- Why mothers need to make the equal involvement of both parents a top priority for their children;-- How women and mothers are becoming a political force toward this end; -- Why Leading Women for Shared Parenting is redefining the "maternal instinct" as providing a child with both parents. --Ned Holstein, M.D., Founder and Chair of the National Parents’ Organization; https://nationalparentsorganization.org -- What's happening in the U.S. and Canada about the challenges fathers face on a legal level; --Which states and provinces have implemented the most progressive legislation?

Journalists: Click here to register for the online conference. 

* Child Trends, 2012. Drawn from U.S. Census data. http://www.childtrends.org/index.cfm. Cited in Jason De Parle and Sabrina Vavernise,  “For Women Under 30, Most Births Occur Outside Marriage, The New York Times, Feb. 17, 2012,” http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/18/us/for-women-under-30-most-births-occur-outside-marriage.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha2