ABSTRACT
Many people argue that the government should not be involved in promoting marriage and family. Probably in response to such attitudes, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) declared in 1988 that it could no longer "afford" to keep track of official marriage and divorce data. This chapter examines the basic argument that people are "born gay." Activists may wish to believe this, but the science is not there to substantiate their oft-stated premise that homosexuality is genetic and immutable. The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) report concludes that homosexuality is not immutable or without significant risks to medical, psychological, and relational health. NARTH points out that the American Psychological Association's (APA's) Code of Ethics supports every client's rights to autonomy and self-determination in therapy and mandates that therapists either respect a client's practice of religion and sexual orientation or refer the client to a professional who will offer such respect.
