Ethicists Charge Doctor With Trying to Prevent Homosexuality in the Womb

[cynatnite]

FRIDAY, Aug. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Bioethicists are accusing a noted American pediatric endocrinologist and researcher of what they claim is the first attempt to prevent homosexuality and bisexuality in the womb in a dispute that has drawn in leading major medical organizations.

The accusations revolve around the experimental prenatal treatment of female fetuses for a condition called congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), which can result in girls being born with ambiguous genitalia.

The pediatrician, Dr. Maria New of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Florida International University, is a longtime champion of the prenatal use of a powerful steroidal medication called dexamethasone to prevent the development of CAH in the womb.

But some medical ethicists accuse New of having a hidden agenda. New has also taken part in research that has linked CAH to sexual orientation, noting that girls with CAH were more likely to be bisexual or homosexual and more likely to be interested in traditionally "masculine" careers and hobbies.

The bioethicists believe New's desire to treat female fetuses with dexamethasone stems from a desire to "prevent" lesbianism or bisexuality and steer girls toward classically defined femininity.

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=118741

[nemo137]

1. Lindsay Beyerstein took this on a while ago.

Apparently, the report was not all it's cracked up to be. Beyerstein goes into some detail about what dex therapy actually is, what the studies in question are, etc.

Here's the link: http://bigthink.com/ideas/20772

[cynatnite]

2. Great article...thanks. n/t

[AnArmyVeteran]

3. Can they also prevent RWD in the womb?

They would make the world a much better place if they could alter a fetus so that it does not grow up with Right Wing Disease. We can see what the symptoms of that hideous disease are, like zero empathy, zero compassion, zero understanding, zero brain, zero thought, zero everything. I'm sure there is some kind of genetic flaw in right wingers to cause them to believe as hateful toward their fellow man as they do. I hope scientists can find that missing link and fix fetuses in the womb so we won't have to see so many right wingers in this world.