Let's make one thing clear, gay people are not "disorded" or "diseased". They do not need to be "fixed". Any problems that gay people have are due to family and societal lack of acceptance. I am a perfectly happy, functional, gay man with a wonderful husband and two beautiful children. I do not need to be fixed.

I am shocked to think that anybody would consider using Hitler-like eugenic experiments on unborn children. Why not just castrate them at birth ? That would certainly "cure" them. Parents should love, support and accept their children as they are. Gay children are just as likely to grow up to be happy fully functional adults as non-gay children. All they need is love and acceptance from family and society.

mvguy:

Let's make one thing clear, gay people are not "disorded" or "diseased". They do not need to be "fixed". Any problems that gay people have are due to family and societal lack of acceptance. I am a perfectly happy, functional, gay man with a wonderful husband and two beautiful children. I do not need to be fixed.

I am shocked to think that anybody would consider using Hitler-like eugenic experiments on unborn children. Why not just castrate them at birth ? That would certainly "cure" them. Parents should love, support and accept their children as they are. Gay children are just as likely to grow up to be happy fully functional adults as non-gay children. All they need is love and acceptance from family and society.

I agree with you that there is nothing wrong with being gay, nor is it a "disease," but the fact of the matter is, it's not your decision. Just like it's not your decision as to whether a woman gets an abortion, it's not your decision whether or not a parent chooses to use hormone treatments during their pregnancy.

And the unborn child has no rights? I guess not. Too bad the unborn can't march on Washington or form political lobbies. They might have gotten equality under the law by now.

I agree with William, though. This is coming, whether we like it or not. We have to make peace with it. We are going to have to make peace with a lot in the coming decades.

mzappala:

And the unborn child has no rights? I guess not. Too bad the unborn can't march on Washington or form political lobbies. They might have gotten equality under the law by now.

yep, "rights" are only guaranteed to those who organize, like you said. In all seriousness though, the current state of the law is such that until a baby leaves the womb it is not a human and therefore has no rights. And why should it? It doesn't pay taxes. When it starts chipping in and paying it's own way, then it can determine if it wants to be gay or straight :)

I'm sorry, I thought that some document, somehwere, in our country's history said something about an inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness... but now that you mention it, maybe that was a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness contingent on having exited the birth canal and paying taxes. :)

mzappala:

I'm sorry, I thought that some document, somehwere, in our country's history said something about an inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness... but now that you mention it, maybe that was a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness contingent on having exited the birth canal and paying taxes. :)

yes, now you are understanding. Also, you have to complain loudly and obnoxiously, otherwise you get no rights. So in summation, to get rights you have to pay taxes, breathe air, complain loudly, and have your own washington lobbyists.

This is not just an American issue. We already see gender selection on a growing scale, where in some cultures, male children are prefered. Girls aborted, boys kept. The right to choose can be a double edged sword. Current laws favor the adult over the unborn child, but the long range effect on society, and certain segments of society can be far reaching.

This article talked about using hormones to influence the sexual orientation of the unborn, which is still unproven. But what if they simply perfected testing to determine orientation, then used the termination and do-over method method to eliminate homosexuals from the planet, or at least developed nations. It seems the technology may exist, or soon exist, to achieve this in as little as one or two generations.

Why would such a road be traveled? Well, on the individual or micro level, the majority of those who breed are heterosexual. Most will have a bias towards having a child that matches them, to include sexual orientation. You may not like it, but there will be nothing you can do about it, short of obliterating doctor/patient privacy rights, and a persons right to do with their own body what they choose.

On a broader, macro scale, the implications are more sinister. The articled referenced several religious leaders/groups weighing in, which is not surprising. This issue would quickly be seen as a two-fer for them. First, would be their beliefs that homosexuality is wrong, and will see this as a "final solution" in the furtherance of those beliefs. Second, it could be seen as the perfect wedge issue affecting the political left. It could place at odds, two traditional allies in progressive politics, Gays and Women. On one hand you have the Pro-Choice Movement, on the other, the possible formation of the Right to not go Extinct Movement. It is very possible that Gay people might start coming around to Dubya's aversion to abortion rights and stem cell like research.

Of course, it is all speculative at this point. With the Health Care situation we are now in, only those with good health coverage would be able to participate in this Mengle style experiment. Of course, if the Democratic Party is successful in providing Universal Health coverge, that might not always be the case.

It is a brave new world, and we have only begun to scratch the surface of possible ethical dilemas that could and will arise. Our current laws and societal beliefs may be ill equipped to deal with them, and may have to evolve quickly.