Could biotechnology allow two gay men to make a baby? That
question was explored recently, and not by the National Enquirer.
No, it was a legit story
in the Washington Post, which reports:
If the science holds true in humans as in mice -- and several scientists said they suspect it will -- then a gay male couple might, before long, be able to produce children through sexual reproduction, with one man contributing sperm and the other fresh eggs bearing his own genes.
That scenario raises difficult questions, including whether the second man would be recognized as the child's biological mother.
Frankly, I'm not sure what to make of this. But it does point
out that the near future could be a very different world than the
one we now inhabit. If gay couples can produce their own biological
offspring together, would that hasten the full acceptance of gays
into the fabric of society, or provoke a backlash over tampering
with the heretofore immutable laws of nature? And if genetic
engineering advances still further, will "designer babies" that are
engineered to be an improvement on the traditional model be welcome
or rejected as dangerous mutants (shades of X-Men!). There are no
answers, but sometimes it's worth stepping back from the squabbles
of today and thinking about the questions that are waiting for us
tomorrow.
--Stephen H. Miller
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