Wooly issue in sheep's clothing

by William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.

For all my social commentary (all with pertinent medical angles, of course), I've always been reluctant to weigh in too heavily about homosexuality. Aside from the occasional quip, I try to keep that topic in "ten foot pole" territory...

But today, it's front and center - in both fascinating and disturbing contexts. First, the fascinating, starting with a little background:

Not to invade their privacy (and not that there's anything wrong with it), but as it turns out, 1 in 10 male sheep are actually homosexual. Yes, you read that right - when they aren't butting heads, 10% of rams prefer to, uh, "hornicate" with other rams. Now, here's why this is important...

According to a science-and-technology investing advisory I receive - and the UK Sunday Times as well - some recent Oregon State University research on these sheep potentially has major ramifications (sorry, couldn't resist the wordplay) for human sexuality.

...and the engineering of it.

Apparently, researchers there have found a way to reverse the sexual preference among these "gay" sheep. Once they dug into these sheep's brains (while they were alive, by the way), the scientists determined that a simple adjustment of certain hormonal levels could result in their mating normally with ewes. (And when the "ewe turns," you can be sure they'll notice it.)

The author of the investing letter I read postulates that - although this development might ultimately be good for increasing lamb production on sheep farms - it portends all kinds of potential quagmires for humans. Why? Because according to him (I won't name him here), humans are almost certain to be susceptible to this same kind of sexual "rebalancing."

That means there may soon come a day when parents, using external hormonal adjustments, can ensure the sexuality of their children, either in the womb or after birth. Or perhaps to either side of the, uh, fence - so to speak. Think about it: This is a technological sword that cuts both ways. Keep reading for the disturbing part...

Choosing the sexuality of a child may seem like a priori to many, but what about to homosexual couples who've been able to adopt or have children in other ways? If they could, would they choose that their kids should be gay as well?

And if so, would this constitute abuse?

Let's come at this from another angle. Let's say there's a heterosexual couple who sense that their child is becoming gay. Would it be abusive for them to take action to ensure their child ends up straight? Would they be considered bad parents for caring one way or another which way their kid's sexual compass is pointed?

Take the case of what's now considered the world's youngest transsexual, for instance. The Viennese youth, now aged 14, has been a girl trapped in a male body since age 2, according to the child's father - as reported in the Sunday Telegraph. The boy, Tim, has been known as Kim since beginning the process of sexual transformation to officially become female at age 12...

Using hormone injections! The actual surgery to turn his "outie" into an "innie" can't be legally performed until he, er, SHE reaches age 18. The age of consent, in other words.

The irony here is thick. No doubt, many of the more progressive thinkers on both sides of the Atlantic feel that this child - this CHILD - should have the right to choose what sex it lives life as. But since it requires parental consent and technology (starting with hormone treatments) to actualize the child's inclinations, why would it be any more noble to change the child's sex than to preserve the inclination most of his sex are born with?

With technology as it exists today, that can't be done.

But if it soon could be done, what would be the result, I wonder? To cut through all the clutter here: If we had the ability to eradicate homosexuality, would we? And would it be right if we did?

I wonder what most straight parents - like yours and mine - would say about that on the day their child is born...

Always talking straight about human engineering,

William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.

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