FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | July 7, 2010

GLMA, NCLR Urge Investigation of Alleged Misuse of Prenatal Drug to Manipulate Sexual Orientation

(San Francisco, CA, July 7, 2010)—Today, the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association and the National Center for Lesbian Rights respond to the recent article published by the Bioethics Forum of the Hastings Center, a nonpartisan bioethics institute, investigating the abuse of the steroid dexamethasone by administering the drug to pregnant women in the attempt to prevent female children from having atypical genitals or from growing up to be lesbian.

A statement from The Gay and Lesbian Medical Association and the National Center for Lesbian Rights:

“The Gay and Lesbian Medical Association and the National Center for Lesbian Rights are deeply concerned by recent reports that some medical providers have subjected pregnant women and children to serious medical risks by administering or recommending prenatal dexamethasone in order to prevent female children from having atypical genitals or from growing up to be lesbian. We strongly condemn such treatments as unethical and morally reprehensible. The goal of medical treatment is to alleviate human suffering and illness—not to stamp out the natural diversity of human existence. We urge the Department of Health and Human Services to take immediate action to investigate these allegations.”

The National Center for Lesbian Rights is a national legal organization committed to advancing the civil and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their families through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education.
www.nclrights.org.

The Gay and Lesbian Medical Association’s mission is to ensure equality in health care for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals and health care providers.
www.glma.org.

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