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Homosexuality vs. Another Compulsive Disorder
At the beginning of chapter three in his book,
Homosexuality
and the Politics of Truth, psychiatrist Jeffrey Satinover, M.D. provides
the following sobering comparison between homosexuality and another familiar
compulsive disorder:
"What would you think if a relative, friend or colleague had a condition
that is routinely, even if not always, associated with the following problems:
-
A significantly decreased likelihood of establishing or preserving a successful
marriage
-
A five- to ten-year decrease in life expectancy
-
Chronic, potentially fatal, liver disease--hepatitis
-
Inevitably fatal esophageal cancer
-
Pneumonia
-
Internal Bleeding
-
Serious mental disabilities, many of which are irreversible
-
A much higher than usual incidence of suicide
-
A very low likelihood that its adverse effects can be eliminated unless
the condition itself is eliminated
-
An only 30 percent likelihood of being eliminated through lengthy, often
costly, and very time-consuming treatment in an otherwise unselected population
of sufferers (although a very high rate among highly motivated, carefully
selected sufferers)
We can add four qualifications to this unnamed condition. First,
even though its origin is influenced by genetics, the condition
is, strictly speaking, rooted in behavior. Second, individuals who
have this condition continue the behavior in spite of the destructive consequences
of doing so. Third, although some people with this condition perceive
it as a problem and wish they could rid themselves of it, many others deny
they have any problem at all and violently resist all attempts to 'help'
them. And fourth, these people who resist help tend to socialize
with one another, sometimes exclusively, and form a kind of a 'subculture'.
No doubt you would care deeply for someone close to you who had such
a condition. And whether or not society considered it undesirable
or even an illness, you would want to help. Undoubtedly, you would
also consider it worth 'treating', that is, you would seek to help your
relative, friend, or colleague by eliminating the condition entirely.
The condition we are speaking of is alcoholism.
...And now imagine another friend or colleague who had a condition associated
with a similar list of problems:
A significantly decreased likelihood of establishing or preserving a successful
marriage
A twenty-five to thirty-year decrease in life expectancy
Chronic, potentially fatal, liver disease-- infectious hepatitis, which
increases the risk of liver cancer
Inevitably fatal immune disease including associated cancers
Frequently fatal rectal cancer
Multiple bowel and other infectious diseases
A much higher than usual incidence of suicide
A very low likelihood that its adverse effects can be eliminated unless
the condition itself is eliminated
An at least 50 percent likelihood of being eliminated through lengthy,
often costly, and very time-consuming treatment in an otherwise unselected
group of sufferers (although a very high success rate, in some instances
nearly 100 percent, for groups of highly motivated, carefully selected
individuals)
As with alcoholism: First, even though its origin may be influenced
by genetics, the condition is, strictly speaking, a pattern of behavior;
second, individuals who have this condition continue in the behavior in
spite of the destructive consequences of doing so; third, although some
people with this condition perceive it as a problem and wish they could
rid themselves of it, many others deny they have any problem at all and
violently resist all attempts to 'help' them; and fourth, some of the people
with this condition-- especially those who deny it is a problem-- tend
to socialize almost exclusively with one another and form a 'subculture'.
This condition is homosexuality. Yet despite the parallels between
the two conditions, what is striking today are the sharply different responses
to them."
In fact, homosexual activists continue to push for further restrictions
on mental health professionals to prevent the treatment of homosexuals.
Given the list of problems associated with homosexuality and the relatively
high rate of success in treating the condition, it is obvious that the
homosexual activists lack compassion for those they are supposed to serve.
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