Jubbergun wrote:
What if we do find that homosexuality is determined by purely biological factors?
This is highly unlikely, but they may discover genes or epigenetic markers that contribute towards certain tendencies. Sexuality is a very complicated behavioral manifestation and nurture will always have a lot to do with it (like height and diet, for example, or temperament). My intuition leads me to believe that IF homosexuality has a strong genetic component, it will be a very very tiny fraction of the human population. It is a trait that should essentially have evolved out of the population over time, and is deleterious to the species.
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1)Would there be compelling moral or ethical reasons to stop parents from manipulating those factors to make sure their children are straight?
Parents using IVF already have the option to choose their child's sex. Deaf parents can elect to have Deaf children. It won't be too long before we see designer babies, and by that point the precedent will be set such that sexuality will be the least of the worries.
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2)If those factors cannot be manipulated, what are the implications of parents who might choose abortion to avoid having a homosexual child?
Although I believe they will eventually be able to be manipulated (if you assumed a biological basis in the first place), and assuming that abortion is still as widely accepted and protected as it is today, I think it will be permissible. "Let each person decide for themselves" kind of attitude will linger I think.
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Is there a disconnect, as the author suggests, in thinking no important differences between people, and especially groups of people, are genetically determined and are instead an outcome of their opportunities yet insisting that homosexuality is biologically determined?
Well, we know, for example, that race and sex are genetically determined (as far as "important differences between people" go). There is suspicion that mood, personality, intelligence, many diseases, and so on have genetic components. They could make the argument that it's just another part of who you are, no more or less important than any of those other things. "Separate but equal," as flawed as that phrase is.
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Would you care if your own children were homosexual, and why?
Yes and no. I would not wish unnecessary hardship on them. But, I really don't care who they are attracted to -- it's not like MY life is directly affected by it. I don't want kids or grandkids for that matter, but if I had kids, I'd be fine with gay/straight.
Trans on the other hand would probably make me flip my shit. But that's another issue.
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Is it morally wrong to hope that your children aren't gay for reasons like not wanting them to face any hardships and ostracism that come with it?
I hope my children aren't ugly, short, insanely tall, awkward, etc. for the same reason, so I think it's a legit argument (see above).