Gay Gene Patch
If you want to read the true thoughts and feelings Christian fundamentalists (and not a few conservative Catholics) have for gay people, read the Rev. R. Albert Mohler’s March 2nd blog, “Is Your Baby Gay? What If You Could Know? What If You Could Do Something About It?”
I read it as a horrifying glimpse into a future where homosexuality may be eradicated through science and abortion, aided and abetted by religious conservatives in government and the medical industry. Could it be we are one or two generations away from a world without lesbian and gay people? It’s a possibility.
Ultra sound equipment is used in India to help determine whether or not the fetus in female. In some cases, when this is found to be the case, the fetus is aborted.
In his case, the Rev. Mohler isn’t arguing for abortion; he is suggesting a hormonal intervention to change the sexual orientation to heterosexual. The justification for this is technology being used is for the “greater glory of God”; for families to avoid the shame of having a gay child; and most importantly, to intervene to avoid sexual temptation and sin.
In the case of our own families, if they knew we were going to be lesbian, would they have opted for abortion or a medical intervention? I’m sure mine would have! And they love me and like my life partner very much.
Of course, once we start down the road of “customizing” our babies, all kinds of ethical questions begin to swarm like angry bees. What else can be changed? Are interventions limited? Will procreation be left up to individuals, or will the government have a say?
It will have to be one of the great ironies if the Catholic Church takes up the mantle as defender of lesbian and gay fetuses. And if a “woman’s right to choose” ends up as a means to eliminate lesbians.
March 20th, 2007 at 4:39 am
It’s calle eugenics. It’s not a new idea. However other ‘leaders’ had other ways of getting rid of the unwanted. Adolph Hitler is a case in point.
In the US, disabled people were frequently hidden away from the eyes of ‘normal people. Remember Willowbrook?
Sad
March 20th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
Jordan, yes, I do remember Willowbrook, and agree with you it was a very sad situation and a horror for the human beings that had to endure those conditions, and the fact they were forgotten. Karen
March 21st, 2007 at 8:55 am
Isn’t it grand that we truly have a God that creates and not leave it up to the human race! Why – we are our own worst enemies indeed. So many are afraid to consider stem cell research so others may live – YET would abort a fetus just in case this lesbian-to-be may love another of same sex. We need to keep praying for this “kind” called humankind. Mary
March 21st, 2007 at 12:54 pm
Mary, especially when promulgated by “religious” people. Thanks for writing! Karen
March 23rd, 2007 at 10:26 am
Ya know, I just heard about this and it saddened me. I personally don’t think it will get that far. Social surveys are showing that more and more people are accepting of homosexuality than in the past. This includes both gay and lesbian themselves, and parents or siblings or friends etc. Also, I see that on AOL or other blogs, many people are against this prenatal treatment. If they disagree with homosexuality, they see other issues as more important (rape, murder etc) and want to know if the same thing would be done with them. Its sad there are some parents who would do this, but most online responses are showing parents wouldn’t do this, and feel it is going too far. The problem is that doing something like this is too risky. As Myers wrote in response to Mohler’s column “”If there are such genes, they will also contribute to other aspects of social and sexual interactions,” “Disentangling the nuances of preference from the whole damn problem of loving people might well be impossible.” That’s the issue. It is all interrelated. The very same source that enables women to intimately love another woman (also with gay men) also provides the basis for the general love through relationships and work they have with the rest of society. You can’t separate it. I laugh (and then prayed) for General Rice and his comments. You can’t say anything is ‘sin’. At most it’s a wrongdoing until you bring people into the act and they give meaning to it. I don’t think this treatment will come to pass. It is playing God. Nicole