If gay is genetic, would you alter an embryo? (ethics, spokesman, KKK)
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If you could get a report on your unborn child and knew that it was going to be genetically predisposed to being gay would you intervene?
Alternatively, if you were a gay couple having a surrogate or test tube baby, would you alter a heterosexual child to be homosexual to identify with your own sexuality?
Absolutely not. As an adoptee I am against viewing/treating children as commodities. I am also against intentionally creating a life with zero regard for the rights of the person being created. This new trend to view family building as "have it your way, right away" has major ethical issues.
Absolutely not. As an adoptee I am against viewing/treating children as commodities. I am also against intentionally creating a life with zero regard for the rights of the person being created. This new trend to view family building as "have it your way, right away" has major ethical issues.
Then don't do it to your embryo. Otherwise why would you interject into what people do with their lives/body when it literally has zero impact on you?
So I take it you feel your wisdom is infinite and you should be able to tell others what to do...I understand!
Having it your way can be the lottery of sperm/eggs that you get naturally or intervening with science.
In the age of technology, in medicine specifically we hear about choosing eye color, height and the sorts isn't far off.
If you could get a report on your unborn child and knew that it was going to be genetically predisposed to being gay would you intervene?
Alternatively, if you were a gay couple having a surrogate or test tube baby, would you alter a heterosexual child to be homosexual to identify with your own sexuality?
I say no. I have a couple of reasons for this:
First, if it's true that homosexuality is completely genetic and not a mixture of genetics and environment or anything like that, I'd have just as much chance at having a homosexual child as I do of having a heterosexual child.
Second, genetic variation is a very good thing when it comes to maintaining a species population. If one starts to fool with the population making everyone the same, the gene pool starts to become depleted and that can be very bad for the species.
Third, I wouldn't care if my child was gay or not. I'd love him or her regardless.
Fourth, it's fun. Knowing everything that's going to happen or how the child will end up will kind of take the magic and mystery out of life.
Not to take away from the original post but this also begs the question of what "homosexuality" really is? The idea has changed over the years. The idea of homosexuality in Ancient Greece is completely different from the idea during the 1800s. The 1800s idea in turn is different from the Twenty-first Century idea. (If this does take away from the original post, I'm sorry. I just thought it would be relevant.)
Yes, I wish technology were already advanced enough to genetically engineer every aspect of our children. Right now it is such a crap-shoot. Hair color and eye color would be nice, but not such a big deal. My spouse and I might let those ride, but autism, genetic defects, sexual orientation, resistance to disease, predisposition to cancer, even natural lifespan and possibly intellectual capacity seem to all be at least partially determined (randomly) by genetics.
I support homosexual equality, but I would screen my children for a gene which would limit them to partnering with just 10% of the population. I don't believe it is a defect or disease, but I do believe it makes life harder for those oriented in that way. Maybe in 200 years this will not be the case, and altering that gene will be thought of in the same way we think of determining hair-or-eye color now. However, given today's world, I would alter the embryo or screen sperm or eggs carrying the homosexual gene.
I'm sure, in a century or two, people will look back on our time as the final benighted years of random childbirth.
"partnering with just 10% of the population."
So, one of every 10 people are Gay? See this number thrown out there all the time and I just don't see it That would mean 1 out of 10 of my neighbors, coworkers and family members were Gay.
Back to the Topic. I have heard some Gay people say they wished they were straight at one point or another in their life. No so much with Heteros. Does this parlay into wanting to change sex of a child at birth is anyones guess.
Then don't do it to your embryo. Otherwise why would you interject into what people do with their lives/body when it literally has zero impact on you?
So I take it you feel your wisdom is infinite and you should be able to tell others what to do...I understand!
Having it your way can be the lottery of sperm/eggs that you get naturally or intervening with science.
Because I prioritize the best interests of children over the preferences of adults who supply the demand? Having experience as someone who themselves has been comodified has given me the ability to have empathy for those conceived in ways that do not consider the negative impact it may have on the child.
People should accept their children as they are, period. Not doing so can have a major impact on the child's self worth.
Sexual orientation is NOT a lifestyle. Whether you eat dinner around a family table every night, or practice your religion on Sundays, or choose public schools over home-schooling, etc... THOSE are lifestyle choices.
The lifestyle choices made by homosexual couples are really not any different from the lifestyle choices made by heterosexual couples.
How do you know being Gay is a choice? You are speaking for gays as if you would know, and YOU DON"T KNOW! Digging up an anecdotal article from a biased social conservative news source doesn't prove anything. You don't know anything about what it is to be gay, so you have no room to speak about whether or not it's a choice. You might not understand it, but don't presume to know that it's a choice because you truly don't know. Why not ask a gay person?
Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 05-05-2013 at 11:38 AM..
I suppose I should post since I do have a gay child, and a straight child. Another poster mentioned something about "wanting your children look/be like you". Well, my husband and I both have brown eyes and hair. Our younger daughter is a blue eyed blonde. Countless people remark to us and also to her brown eyed/brown haired sister about that one. No she doesn't look like us (don't really care), BUT this is where genes come into play. My younger daughter inherited all the recessive genes, which blue eyes is, in both our families, i.e, paternal grandma and maternal grandpa. It really is no mystery. Simple HS Biology genetics course.
However, as I said I have a gay daughter. Why would I want to change her any more than change my other daughter who doesn't look like "us"? I have heard a lot of people say they have no gays in their own families. Well, both my husband and I do; from generation before us to the generation after us. My sister-in-law has 2 gay kids out of 4 total. So how did THIS possibly happen??? My personal feeling is the same way that my daughter got her blue eyes and blonde hair. Recessive genes. I do happen to believe it is genetic simply because of the pattern in both my husband's and my family.
Maybe we should not have married and had children to stop the "gay gene"? My younger straight daughter is married and has said many times that if she has children it would not surprise her if one of them is gay. Is she worred about that? Would she change it if she could find out? She just laughs and will give you a so what? My husband and I feel the same way.
Eliminate the gay gene? No, maybe we need to eliminate the attitude and discrmination against gays instead.
yes, I do believe the ending of your post is very true. I think you make some great points, that while many people here would not "intervene" on potential sexuality, I think 95% of people would intervene if they could stop mental retardation, cancer, defects, etc our they are simply being disingenuous.
I'm very curious to see if giving all things being equal would all the tolerant, gay-loving people continue with a gay child if they could change the outcome. Does your blood line not both you? Do you not want to carry on the family name if your only child is gay and happens to be male? Do you want them to be different than 90% of the people and frowned upon by the majority of the earth's people and religion?
I simply, on a biological level think if you accept homosexuality as a genetic trait then it is clearly a flaw. I am not saying they are below normal human, or should be outcasts, but simply from a biological standpoint they are flawed that they are unable to naturally reproduce with their mate and create offspring (the primal reason for relationship/companionship).
My stance is I would intervene on major traits, and probably be OK with randomness on things like hair color, eye color, etc.
Why start a thread like this when you obviously have your mind made up about gay people. We are not flawed and we can naturally reproduce, so be it that it is with the opposite sex, but we can. Many straight people who are sterile, are they also flawed because they cannot reproduce naturally with their spouse? A flaw would be a trait that is detrimental to the life of the individual, this is not a genetic flaw with gay people, the hassles and problems we incur are because of society, religion and bullies, those are not genetic, but cultural.
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That would mean 1 out of 10 of my neighbors, coworkers and family members were Gay.
