Pregnant women who take slimming pills 'are more likely to have gay children'

The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 12/5/2004 | Robert Matthews

[wjersey]

This will make the lawyers happy!

[nmh]

SHEER CRAP!

THAT is NOT what causes "gay children".

It's ABUSE, sexual or otherwise that determines if they are gay or promiscuous etc.. certainly NOT a pill.

[billorites]

Thanks Mom!
Thanks a ton!

[BenLurkin]

Maybe this discovery will open doors to finding a cure.

[avg_freeper]

Overly vain parents rear psychologically screwed up kids. Who'd guess that?

[reagan_fanatic]

[ken5050]

Pregnant women who take any unncessary medication wihole carrying a child are INSANE...

[Happygal]

Ummm...lemme think.

Neurotic self-conscious women who need to take SLIMMING tablets when pregnant, produce neurotic, gay progeny. Sounds plausible.

[Petronski]

[BenLurkin]

bttt

[KneelBeforeZod]

why couldn't some drug cause gay children? unless you think being gay is normal... plenty of drugs cause mental and physical disorders

[Revolting cat!]

Better gay than sad!

[bluefish]

I didn't read enough of the article to see if they tried to draw a causal connection between the two (the parts I saw didn't). However, I would like to warn those who refuse to think logically to remember the following:

Correlation Does NOT Equal Causation.

There may be a clear correlation between the two. However, that doesn't mean the pills caused offspring to be gay.

It is entirely possible that the type of person inclined to take the specific type of drug in question is also the type of person that raises children in a specific manner that leads to the child being gay.

Again, all I can see is that they have found a correlation. That is interesting in and of itself, but it does not explain any explanation for actual cause. What 'caused' the child to be gay could very well be the thing that 'caused' the mother to take the pills.

So far, we know little to nothing. Too often, reporters draw incorrect conclusions from the discovery of a correlation (which can even be pure coincidence). Even when reported correctly, too many readers draw the same incorrect conclusion.

It makes me think of the stories when a kid goes on a killing spree and they discover that he was on psychiatric drugs. People instantly assume the drug caused the killing spree, never stopping to think that the thing that 'caused' the killing spree could very well have been the thing that 'cause' the parents / doctor / school administrator to put the kid on the drug in the first place - with the drug merely failing to prevent the final tragedy.

[Jeff Gordon]

It's ABUSE, sexual or otherwise that determines if they are gay or promiscuous etc.. certainly NOT a pill.

Why on Earth would an Intelligent Designer create this effect? Where is the love in creating a process that punishes the victim of abuse?

[KneelBeforeZod]

"Correlation Does NOT Equal Causation. "

sure it does. unless endless FR threads on acutane and antidepressents causing teen suicide are wrong

[bluefish]

Crap... Never fails. I type 48 paragraphs trying to explain something and by the time I'm done, another Freeper has done the same thing in a simple, elegant sentence. Sometimes just a word or two even!

Thanks for summing up my thoughts before I even finished them. Would you be willing to provide lessons on how to do that? Heh heh..

[airborne]

"Maybe this discovery will open doors to finding a cure."

A brilliant observation!

Support research to find a cure for homosexuality!

[Happygal]

It's simple. Drink Guinness before posting! ;-) *LOL*

[bluefish]

plenty of drugs cause mental and physical disorders

And plenty of drugs are administered to those with mental and physical disorders.. resulting in a future conclusion by others that the drug itself caused the disorder.