Baba Ramdev is wrong, homosexuality is no disease
Published on: Monday, 13th July 2009 10:22 AM
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Administrator
Source : Rediff
Baba Ramdev calls homosexuality a disease. No textbook of psychiatry says so. The World Health Organisation does not say so. And no, not even the scriptures, certainly not the Yoga Sutra, says so. In all probability, this is the Baba's personal opinion. He has a right to his opinion. But can a country's law be based on his opinion?
The problem is that the Baba is a celebrity and in the times we live in, celebrities, especially those with a religious and cultural aura, are seen as voices of authority. We must be careful about such opinions. The practice of using science to justify social prejudices is not something new. Baba Ramdev, with his charm and benign smile, is doing what has been done before.
The term 'disease' presupposes a normal health condition. Modern medicine uses this term very cautiously -- the patient must be distressed by it, or it must threaten a person's well-being, before it can be labelled disease. Disease cannot be a term used by a community to brand and weed out people that it is uncomfortable with. An unpopular social group cannot be labelled 'diseased' to justify extermination.
Read complete article : Rediff