This is crazy.
Scientists say that same-sex parents may be able to produce biological children together in the very near future.
Researchers at Cambridge University and Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science claim to have found a way to create human egg and sperm cells from the stem cells in the skin of two adults.
Any two adults.
Two males. Two females. It doesn’t matter.
Using stem cell lines from embryos and cells from the skin of five adults, researchers engineered sperm cells, then compared the cells with those from aborted fetuses to see if the two had matching characteristics.
Lo and behold, they did!
“We have succeeded in the first and most important step of this process,”Azim Surani, professor of physiology and reproduction at Cambridge, told the Sunday Times, “which is to show we can make these very early human stem cells in a dish.”
“It has already caused interest from gay groups because of the possibility of making egg and sperm cells from parents of the same sex,” added the head of Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science, Jacob Hanna.
Researchers claim that in as little as two years, the science may be advanced enough for same-sex couples to produce children that are biologically theirs.
Cue the god-fearing, science-hating Bible thumpers in 5…4…3…2…
demented
I don’t know a lot about biology, but wouldn’t making gametes be a more complicated business than other kinds of cells?
Kieru
Science makes a lot of promises it doesn’t keep; like an HIV cure/vaccine announcement every 6 months or so. Pardon me if I don’t hold my breath on being able to produce a biological child with my partner.
Even if the science does come to fruition, men are still going to require a surrogate and the costs of the procedure alone will probably restrict it to the most wealthy of our community.
TransParency_
@Kieru: You said ” … men are still going to need a surrogate”. You mean “Cis gay men”, stop trying to erase transpeople.
Giancarlo85
@TransParency_: omg. Not you again. Take your nasty trolling elsewhere. You don’t represent trans people.
money718
How about a cure for AIDS?
DarkZephyr
“then compared the cells with those from aborted fetuses”
Tacky.
DarkZephyr
@TransParency_: not all Transmen can reproduce. Stop trying to erase transmen that can’t reproduce.
Paco
Up next… Male pregnancy.
Blackceo
Actually, I have been hoping there would be some breakthrough like this. If my fiancé and I ever decided to have kids, I said before I wish there was a way that both of our DNA could fertilize one egg. This is great news and may make me reconsider knowing that if we have children he/she would be both of ours biologically. I envision this is going to probably be a very expensive process tho so it’s definitely going to favor those with the means to do so, which is ashame. Won’t get my hopes up too soon but I’ll be interested to follow this and see if it truly comes to fruition.
polarisfashion
@Paco: Sounds painful! Now some of us would realize how tough women are who have been doing this since the beginning of time. Who wants to be first?
VampDC
This is so important. I really hope this happens. So many reasons men don’t explore gay relationships or end up marrying a woman is because of the desire to have biological children.
RIGay
You know… if this became an option in my lifetime, I would at least try.
jwtraveler
How about those of us who believe science should act in service of humanity? Not wealthy, elitist narcissists. I know the current trend in the gay mainstream is for gay people to act exactly like straight people, but guess what? We’re not. And some of us like it that way. Instead of investing millions/billions of dollars to manufacture miniature Adams and Steves, how about adopting some of the millions of kids in the world who need homes? Try giving a little.
jwtraveler
@TransParency_: Here’s news for you. The world does not revolve around your selfish, obsessive needs. No one on Queerty wants to erase transpeople. We just want to erase you. Please go away.
AxelDC
Great. The excuse “but I’m gay” keeps losing ground.
MarionPaige
I see The Borne on crusade, wiping out Tired Ass White Queens who were merely turned.
CNYMASC
Mother Nature knows best. This new method of birth might lead to all sorts of genetic malformitys and who knows what.
TomMc
@CNYMASC: Indeed, widespread dysgraphia might ensue.
tdx3fan
@Kieru: The entire procedure can be done for $10,000. That is really not something that only the wealthiest can afford. Hell, most gay men I know could go for one year without their designer labels and have more than enough money.
tdx3fan
@CNYMASC: Oh, ffs, you want to know what type of birth leads to all sorts of genetic mal-formity and who knows what… traditional. Its science assisted birth that leads to the vast majority of healthy children. We have allowed science to be influential of birthing processes for decades. If you want to remove that then we need to get a woman in her home with a midwife and a 50/50 shot of surviving the delivery.
vive
@CNYMASC, Mother Nature gave us AIDS and cancer too, not to mention Malaria, Ebola, and other scourges. Sometimes we can improve on Mother Nature.
@jwtraveler: “How about those of us who believe science should act in service of humanity? Not wealthy, elitist narcissists.”
I kinda agree with you. And the same goes for straight couples and their narcissistic fertility treatments.
vive
@tdx3fan, you are living in a little bubble, aren’t you? The rest of us (i.e., ordinary people) don’t spend $10,000 a year on designer brands (or other luxuries).
DonovanS28
I never knew I would so many idiots claiming they don’t anything about biology and then trying to denounce a scientist who has been working on a project for years, in a mere 10 second post they just thought of
Billy Budd
Using OLD skin cells is surely a problem, and will bring up issues of longevity for the babies. The exactly same thing happens with cloning of animals. They do not live as long as they should.
I don’t trust this research, unless they find a way of using fresh new cells such as the ones produced in your balls, the sperm cells.
David
@TransParency_:
Not to jump to @kieru’s defense but I’m guessing he wasn’t trying to erase transgender people. I consider myself a pretty educated person and well versed in the matters of LGBT but I still had to look up what cisgender was. I had heard it before but I couldn’t remember. I think it’s unfair to accuse someone of “erasing transgender” people when the majority of LGB and straight people aren’t even familiar with cisgender, never mind transgender. I doubt there was any deliberate attempt by @kieru to undermine the trans population. Perhaps a better response to @kieru would have been, “actually, those individuals who are trans but with female reproductive organs can have children.” Frankly, I don’t even know if I’m correct so a clarification, rather an accusation, probably would have educated me too. As an aside, I don’t pretend to understand what a transgender person goes through but Amazon’s Transparent is a great show and it has really opened my eyes.
DarkZephyr
@Blackceo: awww, but there are so many children that NEED to be adopted.
That being said however, this would take away the Catholic Church’s argument that homosexuality is closed to reproduction.
jayj150
@DarkZephyr: The Vatican opposes anything that it considers ‘unnatural’, both for merely sexual purposes as for reproductive purposes. It opposes, and will always oppose homosexuality, not simply because it doesn’t naturally lead to reproduction, but because they see it as “unnatural”, “harmful to families” and yada yada. The possibility of two people of the same sex reproducing will not change that, in fact, if anything, it will give them more reasons to complain. Remember this is the same people that even today condemns the use of condoms(!), the contraceptive pill and other forms of birth control for heterosexual couples.
I for one stopped caring about what the Catholic Church has to say, decades ago. I don’t understand why some gay men feel the need to receive approval from such a hateful institution, I feel the fact that some gay people still care about being accepted by the Catholic Church only serves the purpose of giving the Vatican more power.
And you are right about adoption. There are SO MANY children who could use a healthy, welcoming home with a loving gay family.
jwtraveler
@vive: I don’t disagree. It bugs the crap out of me that my health insurance premiums pay for selfish straight people to get expensive fertility treatments while the much cheaper health care I need, like vision care, isn’t included. Who decided that the ability to reproduce is more important than the ability to see?
demented
@tdx3fan: Ah yes, science-assisted births. With science. Because science. Not any particular branch of it, just… SCIENCE.
And you seem to be avoiding the matter that a woman having an ultrasound and multiple options for delivery is rather different from creating gametes from stem cells, especially with how expensive it is.
Blackceo
@DarkZephyr:
I know…you are absolutely right. We have discussed becoming foster parents but where we are at in our careers right now doesn’t make it feasible. We are both often out of town and our work hours are not traditional. It’s selfish but I know that if either of us wanted to go the surrogate route by having a biological child we would force ourselves to make adjustments to our schedules. So, we should have that same attitude if we wanted to foster or adopt. Lord knows there are plenty of children who do need good, stable homes.
One of my favorite shows is The Fosters on ABCFamily, but trust and believe its almost never that perfect when you have a house full of either adopted and/or foster kids. There are a lot of kids who come with mental health and behavioral or medical issues who really need a parent(s) to have the time to offer. I would also hope that if we fostered or adopted that we know the medical/mental health history of the child’s biological parents just to have a heads up of any predispositions we need to look out for. I know that is not always possible to have that information and records, but it is very helpful. I also feel like if we fostered or adopted, one of us would need to be a stay at home dad for awhile while the child transitions into the new environment, and neither of us can just up and take a leave of absence like that.
@David:
It is so funny you said that because someone was telling me today I should say transgender and not transgendered and I said I had read something about a transgender female saying she embraces transgendered. But, I was told that as a cisgender male I should not say it and that it is her decision to embrace or not embrace the term transgendered. Well, I had to look up ‘cisgender’ because no one has ever referred to me as a cisgender male before. The more you know…..
Giancarlo85
I haven’t heard of this “cisgender” term either, and I know quite a few transgender people. I am just going to say this… we really should not entertain the arguments of a certain troll on here. And to look up the word “cisgender”, I can’t stand it. Just another label. I don’t see what some are trying to accomplish in using the word… is it meant to alienate? I won’t accept ANYONE referring to me in such a term (cismale). Ever. To the one troll: Keep your damn labels to yourself.
Transparency (the one posting on here) is a malicious and foul personality with a terrible personality. This just shows in their posts.
Giancarlo85
@vive: Yeah he lives in a bubble world from what I’ve seen of his posts imo. $10,000 a year on designer labels? My old (yet still solid) car is worth like a 1/3rd of that lmao.
Most gay men I know are living off pay check to pay check. People look at some gay men and see wealth, nice cars, etc… but in reality, MOST GAY MEN are WORKING CLASS. And many younger gay men are still living on the streets. Oh, and I live in LA… so I see this as a fact.
Giancarlo85
@Giancarlo85: *I should rather say most “LGBT” people rather than just gay men. Because MOST LGBT people are working class, and many are living out on the streets.
uniqueness
Science can also be the answer to those of us of average means. Artificial insemination with us (hypothetically) and one of our meaningful, dear girlfriends is a possibility. Our friend’s womb could nurture a baby from which both our sperm are mixed. I love extended families: they are best achieved by choosing the right friend. However, I suggest you also choose the right lawyer for sure. For those of you who are concerned about the child as I am, raising her knowing she has two fathers is of paramount. Any knowledge of that created love should be revealed when she is ready: preferably when questions are asked.
vive
@Giancarlo85, I agree. There is a certain segment of upper middle class gay men (the legendary “disposable income” gays, who are actually a minority of LGBTs) who are apathetic or even actively hostile regarding the economical and societal problems suffered by the larger proportion of the LGBT population. Hostility perhaps because they consider the existence of poor gay people a reflection on themselves. There is such hostility towards the poor that there have been a number of cases where they successfully banished “those people” from their gentrifying neighborhoods.
A certain “let them eat cake” mentality is unfortunately the default in those circles.
Giancarlo85
@vive: Yeah that’s true. Especially among LGBT people of ethnic and racial minorities. They are treated like untouchables. I feel this myself from those upper middle/upper class gay men. It kinda pisses me off and we even see that same kind of attitude on this site sometimes.
Tommy
This will not be in the near future, I’m sure there is a flaw. When they produce about 1,000 human beings from this method then I’ll consider it. No proof no juice.
MariaLBras
@jwtraveler: I can understand where you’re coming from. But some gay couples do want to be able to carry their own babies.
MariaLBras
@Giancarlo85: I use the term cis male and cis female.I don’t use it in a derogitory manner at all. My boyfriend is a trans male and we don’t just point at someone as say that’s a cis male or that’s a cis female. It’s just an easier term to describe someone. Instead of saying he was born with a penis or he was born with a vagina.
MissLaurel
Call me a selfish straight chick if you like, but if this research is as promising as it sounds, it means my husband and I could still have a shot at having a biological child. Anyone who wishes to have one should be able to, regardless of gender identity, or sexual orientation. I feel too much of a big deal is made out of whether someone is gay or straight. As long as they are going to be good parents, who cares?
baigge
Kind of horrified by the cavalier way they ‘re willing to use aborted babies as experimental material. Gay people have for too long been denied their humanity. So have unborn children. Hopefully scientists will seek other means of helping same-sex couples achieve the goal of having children of their own.
Nyri
@TransParency_: Not all trans men WANT to be pregnant, and quite a few trans men and women are not capable of reproduction any more. A transgender man in a same sex relationship will likely still require a surrogate, as would two transgender women in a relationship, or one in a relationship with someone unable to have a child.