If Scientists Find a “Gay Gene” Will “Gay” Unborn Babies be Killed in Abortions?

Opinion   |   Wesley J. Smith   |   Nov 19, 2014   |   11:42AM   |   Washington, DC

Lately, “pro-choice” has been “evolving” into “pro-abortion”–including support for sex selection abortion.

But what if we find there is a gay gene that could identify fetuses who would have a propensity to be homosexual?  That may be on the horizon.

From the New Scientist story:

ultrasound3d22A genetic analysis of 409 pairs of gay twins has provided the strongest evidence yet that gay people are born gay. The study clearly links sexual orientation in men with two regions of the human genome that have been implicated before, one on the X chromosome and one on chromosome 8.

The finding is an important contribution to mounting evidence that being gay is biologically determined rather than a lifestyle choice.

The story notes that the gene factor would not be determinative, but one factor in sexual orientation as a biologically-caused phenomenon.

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So, if a test became available to determine such a propensity–as is currently available for sex or Down syndrome–should we permit abortion to eliminate babies likely to be gay from being born, e.g.,–or for that matter, straight–e.g., eugenic abortion?

Or, will we allow likely orientation to be used as a factor in determining whether to implant an embryo after IVF?

I hope not. But I do sense the potential for a real cultural clash.

LifeNews.com Note: Wesley J. Smith, J.D., is a special consultant to the Center for Bioethics and Culture and a bioethics attorney who blogs at Human Exeptionalism.