QUESTION

Why are same-sex sexual practices not good for you?

DOCTOR’S ANSWER

I frequently receive questions about same sex practice.  Sexual intercourse was designed to be between man and woman. Theologically speaking, God is quite clear in scripture both that He meant for sex to be between husband and wife, and that problems come from engaging in sex – or anything else – outside of His intention and design. Every “thou shalt” and “thou shalt not” is about minimizing unnecessary pain and suffering in our lives. Wanting to have sex with someone of one’s own sex neither means one has to comply with the desire, nor that it (the desire) will protect one from the consequences of the practice. Here are some examples:

1. A large part of the why and how of the bad results of same-sex sexuality is found in the doing. In their 1979 survey published in the book The Gay Report (Summit Books, New York, 1979) homosexual researchers Karla Jay and Allen Young revealed the percentages who engaged in the following practices: 99% oral sex, 91% anal sex, 82% rimming, 22% fisting, 23% golden showers, 4% scat.

2. People who engage in homosexual activity lose 25 to 40% of their lifespan. Factors include various sexually transmitted diseases, infectious hepatitis, anal cancer, amoebic and other infectious bowel diseases, herpes and other viral infections, and HIV/AIDS, among others. (Satinover, J. Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth. Baker, 1998. Pp. 51, 68-69. [includes extensive footnoting of pertinent studies])

3. A 1997 Canadian study noted that in urban gay centers, homosexual men had a life expectancy comparable to that in Canada in the 1870s. (Hogg, Robert S. et al. “Modeling the Impact of HIV Disease on Mortality in Gay and Bisexual Men.” International Journal of Epidemiology. 26. 1997. 657.).

A 2009 human rights complaint filed against the government of Canada by a GLBT alliance cited numerous studies revealing their poor statistics for life expectancy (20 years short of standard), suicide, alcohol and illicit drug/substance abuse, cancer, infectious disease, HIV/AIDS, and depression. (Human Rights Complaint. Against the Government of Canada: Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada. February 2009).

Data presented at the Center for Disease Control’s 2010 National STD Prevention Conference showed the rate of new HIV diagnoses among men who have sex with men (MSM) was over 44 times that of other men and more than 40 times that of women. The rate of primary and secondary syphilis among MSM was over 46 times that of other men and more than 71 times that of women. (Center for Disease Control and Prevention press release: http://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/msmpressrelease.html)

4. Domestic violence is higher in same-sex relationships. In 2004, with a $50,000 grant from the Blue Shield of California Foundation, the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association launched the “LGBT Relationship Violence Project” to educate medical professionals about domestic violence in those communities. (Susan Jones, “Domestic Violence in LGBT Relationships Targeted,” October 20, 2004, CNSNews.com ).

One might assume this was all male-on-male violence, but it was not. In a 1991 survey of over 1,000 lesbians, over half reported, “they had been abused by a female lover/partner,” “…most frequently verbal/emotional/psychological abuse and combined physical-psychological abuse.” (Lie, Gwat Yon, Gentlewarrier, Sabrina. “Intimate Violence in Lesbian Relationships: Discussion of Survey Findings and Practice Implications.” Journal of Social Service Research. 15. 1991. 41-59) A 1994 study reported 37% of lesbians had been physically abused and 32% were either raped or sexually battered. (Bradford, J. et al. “National Lesbian Health Care Survey: Implications for Mental Health Care.” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 1994. 239) By 1993, a Boston program for gay-bashing victims noted that half the calls they received regarded domestic violence. (Patricia King, “Not So Different, After All,” Newsweek, Oct. 4, 1993)

5. It is often claimed that these health statistics would be better is same-sex relationships were more embraced and celebrated. In northern Europe and in Canada same-sex attracted people enjoy supportive governments, affirmation from liberal (if floundering) churches, and a public coerced into silence by hate-speech laws, yet the substandard health statistics for the GLBT community are just a dismal as elsewhere. This demonstrates that acceptance and affirmation of same-sex sexuality are not the promised cure-all for the problem. Behavioral consequences exist and the results are not the same for all sexual behaviors — life is neither a Disney movie nor a Montessori school. Inherently unsafe behavior is not sanitized by enablement — technology won’t fix it and blame shifting onto the faith community is misguided.

Encouragement, let alone celebration, of same-sex sexuality is not a benign mistake. (Van Mol, A. “The public health challenge of same-sex sexuality,” Jamaica Observer, April 7, 2010.)