Many people define what's natural by whatever they feel. If they feel an attraction to something, then they assume it must be good and natural. That's our culture in a nutshell: If it feels good, do it. But, my attractions do not determine the morality of my actions. For example, a husband might be attracted to his secretary, but this "natural" feeing does not make it good to cheat on your wife.
I discussed the morality of homosexual actions in a different question, so let's just look at how "natural" the act is. When I use the term natural, I'm referring to the design that can be found within nature. For example, it's natural for a plant to live in sunlight. If it's put in the closet, it will probably die, because that is not the natural environment in which it should live. When things are put in their natural place, and follow the design with which they're made, they thrive. When this natural law is violated, things go awry.
To see how this plays out in our sexuality, examine how a man's body works with a woman's in the sexual act.
First of all, consider that a man's body really doesn't make sense without a woman's body. The same goes for her. The two compliment each other. For example, the sperm and the egg serve no purpose in isolation from each other. Yet, everyone on the planet is here because of the union of the two.
To get more technical, a man's sperm is foreign to a woman's reproductive system, and the natural response of her body is to treat them as foreign bodies that should be fought off. To do this, the woman's body would normally use lymphocytes to attack the foreign body in order to keep the womb healthy. But there's a substance in a man's sperm cells and semen that tell the woman's immune system to not attack. Also, the alkaline nature of semen buffers and converts the acidic nature of the female reproductive tract, thus allowing the sperm to travel safely to the egg in order to fertilize it. Meanwhile during the marital act, the couple is face to face, and eye to eye.
It has also been found that much of the sperm and seminal fluids that do not fertilize the woman are absorbed into her womb, and actually nourish it with the prostaglandins, and prepare it to bear forth the life of the same genetic type of sperm, so that if and when a baby does later implant into her womb, it will be a healthier pregnancy. If she has multiple sexual partners, or uses barrier methods of contraception, the pregnancy is more likely to be difficult because she has a higher risk of preclampsia. There is not only a built-in design for sex to be heterosexual, but for sex to be monogamous.[1]
However, if two men have anal sex, since the sperm are designed to inhibit the immune system, it may actually increase their odds of developing anal infections, and contracting diseases such as HIV. The sperm are wasted, and serve no purpose. Overall, the body suffers great harm. For example, homosexual men are more likely to have anal cancer (from HPV),[2] which infects over 90 percent of HIV-positive gay men and 65 percent of HIV-negative gay men.[3] They are also at increased risk of hepatitis[4] and throat gonorrhea.[5] They're ten times as likely as heterosexuals to get syphilis,[6] which then makes them two to five times as likely to get HIV.[7] They may also suffer from what's commonly called "Gay Bowel Syndrome," where bacteria from fecal matter enters the digestive system, and may cause a host of health problems.[8] Homosexual men are most at risk for getting HIV,[9] and now half of all new AIDS cases were reported among young homosexuals.[10]
Lesbians are also at risk, because most of them have had sex with other males, and because they often engage in sexual activities with other women that can transmit STDs such as HPV.[11] They're also likely to have more sexual partners than heterosexual women. The Washington Blade, which is a pro-homosexual newspaper, reported that "a large proportion of 'lesbian' women reporting sex with (often high risk) men."[12] One study also reported, "the median number of lifetime male sexual partners was significantly greater for WSW (women who have sex with women) than controls (twelve partners versus six). WSW were significantly more likely to report more than fifty lifetime male sexual partners."[13]
When a woman is bisexual, she is more likely to become infected with an STD than heterosexuals.[14] The Centers for Disease control affirmed that bisexual men were a bridge for infecting women with HIV.[15] Even lesbian relationships that are "exclusive" carry a great risk of STD transmission because they "were significantly more likely to report past sexual contact with a homosexual or bisexual man and sexual contact with an IDU (intravenous drug user)."[16] The journal Sexually Transmitted Infections studied the medical records of 1,408 lesbians, and found that they were at a much higher risk of certain STDs, like "bacterial vaginosis, hepatitis C, and HIV risk behaviors in WSW as compared with controls."[17]
Now, these health risks do not prove the immorality of homosexual actions. Rather, they are an indication that this is not the way our bodies are designed to work. The exclusive use of sexual activity for heterosexual monogamous couples may sound narrow minded, but that's simply the way that our hearts and our bodies are made.
________________________
[1]. S.A. Robertson, et al., “Transforming Growth Factor Beta—A Mediator of Immune Deviation in Seminal Plasma,” Journal of Reproductive Immunology 57:1–2 (October/November 2002), 109–128; Douglas Fox, “Gentle Persuasion,” New Scientist (February 9, 2002); Douglas Fox, “Why Sex, Really?” U.S. News and World Report (October 21, 2002), 60–62; S.A. Robertson, et al., “The Role of Semen in Induction of Maternal Immune Tolerance to Pregnancy,” Seminars in Immunology 13 (2001), 243; John B. Wilks, A Consumer’s Guide to the Pill and Other Drugs, 2nd ed. (Stafford, Va.: American Life League, Inc., 1997), 136; H. S. Klonoff-Cohen, et al., “An Epidemiologic Study of Contraception and Preeclampsia,” The Journal of the American Medical Association 262:22 (December 8, 1989), 3143–3147; S.A. Robertson, et al., “Seminal ‘Priming’ for Protection from Pre-Eclampsia: A Unifying Hypothesis,” Journal of Reproductive Immunology 59:2 (August 2003), 253–265; G.R. Verwoerd, et al., “Primipaternity and Duration of Exposure to Sperm Antigens as Risk Factors for Pre-eclampsia,” International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics 78:2 (August 2002), 121–126; J. I. Einarsson, et al., “Sperm Exposure and Development of Preeclampsia,” American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 188:5 (May 2003), 1241–1243; M. Hernandez-Valencia, et al., “[Barrier Family Planning Methods as Risk Factors Which Predisposes to Preeclampsia],” Ginecologia y Obstetrica de Mexico 68 (August 2000), 333–338; Dekker, et al., “Immune Maladaptation in the Etiology of Preeclampsia: A Review of Corroborative Epidemiologic Studies,” Obstetrical and Gynecological Survey 53:6 (June 1998), 377–382.
[2]. Bob Roehr, "Anal Cancer and You," Between the Lines News (November 16, 2000). Richard A. Zmuda,
[3]. "Rising Rates of Anal Cancer for Gay Men," Cancer News (August 17, 2000). Available at: cancerlinksusa.com/cancernews_sm/Aug2000/081700analcancer.
[4]. "Viral Hepatitus B--Frequently Asked Questions," National Center for Infectious Diseases (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)September 29, 2000. Available at: www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis/b/faqb.
[5]. SPR Jebakumar et al., "Value of Screeningfor Oropharyngeal Chlamydia Trachomatis Infection," Journal of Clinical Pathology 48 (1995): 658-661.
[6]. C. M. Hutchinson et al., "Characteristics of Patients with Syphilis Attending Baltimore STD Clinics," Archives of Internal Medicine 151 (1991): 511-516.
[7]. "Syphilis Elimination: History in the Making," Division of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) October 1999.
[8]. Health Implications Associated with Homosexuality (Austin: The Medical Institute for Sexual Health, 1999), p. 56.
[9]. "Table 9. Male Adult/Adolescent AIDS Cases by Exposure Category and Race/Ethnicity, Reported through December 1999, United States," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention: available at: www/cdc.gov/hiv/stats/hasr1102/table9.
[10]. "Young People at Risk: HIV/AIDS among America's Youth," Divisions of HIV/AIDS Prevention (Centers for Disease Control)November 14, 2000. Available at: www.cdc.gov/hiv/pubs/facts/youth.htm.
[11]. Rhonda Smith, "HPV Can be Transmitted between Women," The Washington Blade (December 4, 1998).
[12]. Katherine Fethers et al., "Sexually Transmitted Infections and Risk Behaviors in Women Who Have Sex with Women," Sexually Transmitted Infections 76 (2000):348.
[13]. Ibid., p. 347.
[14]. V. Gonzales, et al., "Sexual and Drug-Use Risk Factors for hiv and STDs: A Comparison of Women with and without Bisexual Experiences," American Journal of Public Health 89 (December 1999): 1846.
[15]. "Bisexuals Serve as 'Bridge' Infecting Women with HIV," Reuters News Service (July 30, 2000).
[16]. Katherine Fethers et al., "Sexually Transmitted Infections and Risk Behaviors in Women Who Have Sex with Women," Sexually Transmitted Infections 76 (2000):347.
[17]. Katherine Fethers et al., "Sexually Transmitted Infections and Risk Behaviors in Women Who Have Sex with Women," Sexually Transmitted Infections, July 2000, p. 345.