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from "Born that way" theory
Study Seeks To Discover Genetic Origin
Of Homosexuality
October 17, 2007 - The Associated Press has just published a report on Dr. Alan Sanders with the Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Research Institute, who is conducting a study that seeks to discover if there's a genetic origin to homosexuality. (Sanders' apparently began his project in 2005, according to a previous report from NARTH.)
Working with a federal grant, Sanders is studying 1,000 pairs of gay brothers as well as straight brothers and parents. He suspects there isn't one so-called "gay gene," but several genes that interact with non-genetic factors. "If there's one gene that makes a sizable contribution, we have a pretty good chance" of finding it.
Joel Ginsberg with the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association is concerned that discovery of such a gene would result in discrimination. But, he added, "If we confirm that sexual orientation is an immutable characteristic, we are much more likely to get the courts to rule against discrimination."
Sanders' research is designed to duplicate or expand upon a study published in 1993 involving 40 pairs of gay brothers.
Alan Chambers of Exodus International has said that even if research ultimately shows that genetics play a larger role, it "will never be something that forces people to behave in a certain way. We all have the freedom to choose."
The 1993 twin studies paper has been thoroughly debunked by researchers. NARTH Scientific Advisory Committee member Dr. Neil Whitehead, for example, has authored detailed rebuttals to this flawed study and others that purport to show a genetic origin to homosexual behaviors.
Whitehead, writing in "The Importance Of Twin Studies," notes:
Identical twins have identical genes. If homosexuality was a biological condition produced inescapably by the genes (e.g. eye color), then if one identical twin was homosexual, in 100% of the cases his brother would be too. But we know that only about 38% of the time is the identical twin brother homosexual. Genes are responsible for an indirect influence, but on average, they do not force people into homosexuality. This conclusion has been well known in the scientific community for a few decades but has not reached the general public. Indeed, the public increasingly believes the opposite.
Additional Reading:
"Born That Way" Theory -- Is Homosexuality Genetic?
Updated: 8 February 2008
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