The Anti-Lesbian Drug?
Newsweek recently published an article entitled The Anti-Lesbian Drug concerning the use of a steroid named dexamethasome by doctors to prevent female fetuses from developing congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). With this provocative headline, the author Sharon Begley) writes,
![](http://www.newsweek.com/content/newsweek/2010/07/02/the-anti-lesbian-drug/_jcr_content/body/inlineimage.img.jpg/1278096311654.jpg)
Or so one might guess from the storm brewing over the prenatal use of that steroid, called dexamethasone. In February, bioethicist Alice Dreger of Northwestern University and two colleagues blew the whistle on the controversial practice of giving pregnant women dexamethasone to keep the female fetuses they are carrying from developing ambiguous genitalia. read moreGenetic engineers, move over: the latest scheme for creating children to a parent’s specifications requires no DNA tinkering, but merely giving mom a steroid while she’s pregnant, and presto—no chance that her daughters will be lesbians or (worse?) ‘uppity.’
While there is a need for bioethics watchdog centres such as The Hasting Center's Bioethics Forum, there is also a need to be careful while examining the evidence or the lack of it. Alice Dreger, Ellen K. Feder, Anne Tamar-Mattis (06/29/2010) posted Preventing Homosexuality (and Uppity Women) in the Womb? , the article which was picked up by Newsweek.
LETTER FROM THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION
LETTER FROM THE OFFICE OF HUMAN RESEARCH PROTECTIONS
Labels: Bioethics, Biomedical Ethics, Media, Medicine, Sexuality
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