Sing You Home

by Jodi Picoult

  "Leave her alone!" I cry, standing up. "Can't you see she's upset!"

  For a moment, the whole world stops spinning. Zoe turns with a ghost of a smile on her lips--grateful because she thinks that my words are meant for her.

  And then she realizes they're not.

  You cannot be married to a person for nearly a decade and not be able to read the Morse code of a relationship: Eyes that meet at a dinner party, telegraphing that it's time to make up an excuse and go home. A silent apology when you reach for her hand under the covers. An I love you smile, tossed at her feet.

  She knows. I can tell by the way she is looking at me that she understands what I've done. That she's lost me, and potentially her embryos, to a woman she detests.

  Then the freeze-frame releases and Zoe lunges toward the witness stand. A sheriff grabs her and forces her to her knees. Someone screams. "I will have order in this court, right now," Judge O'Neill roars.

  By now, Liddy is a blubbering mess. Wade grabs at my arm. "Shut up before you ruin everything."

  "Zoe," Angela Moretti says, trying to push the sheriff off her client. "You need to calm down--"

  "This court is in recess," the judge shouts, and he storms off the bench.

  Wade waits until Angela has dragged Zoe out of the courtroom, until the bulk of the gallery has filed into the hallway to gossip about what they've seen. "What the hell was that?" he accuses.

  I don't know what to say to him. I can barely understand it myself.

  "It just happened," I manage.

  "Well, you better make sure it doesn't happen again, if you feel like winning this trial. If your ex wants to stand up and look like a crazy nutcase, that's fantastic for us. You think a judge is going to watch that and think she'd be a good parent? If she does it again, and I pray she will, you sit with your hands folded and you make yourself the picture of calm. You don't stand up and defend her, for the love of God!"

  I bend my head, so that he can't see the relief flooding my face.

  I have no idea where Wade found Genevieve Newkirk. A licensed clinical psychologist, she's got a Ph.D. from UCLA and has published repeatedly on issues central to marriage, sexuality, and parenting. She's been on radio and TV--local and national--and has been interviewed for web and print media. She's consulted on over seventy-five legal cases and has testified in over forty of them. "Dr. Newkirk," Wade begins, once he's gotten her admitted as an expert witness, "in your work, have you had the opportunity to explore whether homosexuality is genetically inherited?"

  "I have. Frankly, there have not been many studies done, so it's very easy to review all the research."

  "Are you familiar with the Bailey-Pillard studies?" Wade asks.

  "Yes." Dr. Newkirk turns to the gallery. "In 1991 and 1993 J. M. Bailey and R. C. Pillard set out to study homosexuality in twins. They found that fifty-two percent of identical male twins of homosexual men were also homosexual, that twenty-two percent of fraternal twins of homosexual men were also homosexual, and that eleven percent of adoptive brothers of homosexual men were likewise homosexual. Among women they found that forty-eight percent of identical female twins of lesbians were also lesbian, sixteen percent of fraternal twins of lesbians were also lesbian, and six percent of adoptive sisters of lesbians were likewise lesbian."

  "What does that suggest?"

  "Well, it's complicated. Some would argue that the data suggest a biological component to being gay. However, twins who are raised together have the same sort of shaping influences. In order to have a valid study, twins who were raised apart would have to be assessed--and in identical twins who have been raised apart, there is a zero percent correlation; in other words, just because one twin is homosexual doesn't mean the identical twin is homosexual. Moreover, if sexual orientation is genetic, how do you explain the other forty-eight percent of identical male twins and fifty-two percent of identical female twins who wind up not being gay?"

  "Hang on," Wade says. "You're telling me that there are identical twins--twins who were born from the same exact genetic material--who grow up so that one's homosexual, and the other's not?"

  "Nearly half," Newkirk agrees. "This suggests strongly that homosexuality isn't a genetic determination. It may very well be a genetic predisposition--but that's not the same thing by a long shot. Many people are born with a genetic predisposition toward depression or substance abuse and yet don't indulge in behaviors that bring them to the surface. Or in other words: the environment in which a child is raised has an enormous influence on whether or not he becomes homosexual."

  "Thank you, Doctor. What about Simon LeVay's research?"

  "Dr. LeVay was a neuroscientist at the Salk Institute, and he set out to find a physiological basis to homosexuality by studying the brains of forty-one people: nineteen homosexual men, sixteen heterosexual men, and six heterosexual women. He found that a little batch of neurons in the hypothalamus--a batch thought to control sexual behavior--is smaller in homosexual men than it is in heterosexual men. Moreover, he determined that it was approximately the size of a heterosexual woman's hypothalamus--which had previously been shown to be half the size of a heterosexual man's."

  "Does this show a biological basis for homosexuality?" Wade asks.

  "No. First, the hypothalamic region demonstrates considerable range--in some homosexual men the region was the same size as a heterosexual man's; in some heterosexuals the region was as small as a homosexual's. Moreover, the control group was quite small, and the study hasn't been repeated. Finally, we have to wonder whether the brain structure causes sexual orientation--or changes because of it. For example, a National Institutes of Health study showed that, for people who read Braille after becoming blind, the part of the brain that controls the reading finger actually expands."

  "What about Dean Hamer's 1993 study?" Wade says. "Didn't he find a 'gay gene'?"

  "Not exactly," Dr. Newkirk replies. "He found that gay brothers shared a piece of the X chromosome--Xq28--more often than straight brothers did. But again, this study hasn't been replicated."

  "So none of these esteemed scientists have been able to conclusively prove that a person is born gay?"

  "No," the psychologist says. "It's certainly not like skin color, for example. You can't do anything to change your skin color--Michael Jackson notwithstanding. But sexual orientation isn't all nature. There's a hefty dose of nurture tossed in as well."

  "That brings me to your most recent article, 'Beyond Love: Why Same-Sex Marriage Harms Children.' Can you tell us what led you to write it?"

  "There's copious evidence that it is in a child's best interest to be raised by two heterosexual parents," Dr. Newkirk says. "Lesbian partners may indeed be wonderful mothers, but they simply cannot be fathers."

  "Can you elaborate?"

  Dr. Newkirk nods. "There are four primary reasons why it's critical for a child to be loved by both a mother and a father. First, the attachment a parent of each sex has to its child--though equally important--is significantly unique. A mother's unconditional love and a father's conditional love complement each other and influence the way a child grows up. A relationship with both sexes in a child's formative years allows the child to interact with the world more easily in later years. Second, it's a well-established fact of child development that there are different stages of growth psychologically. For example, although babies of both sexes at first respond better to the care of a mother, at a certain point, to hone his masculine identity, a boy must detach from his mother and identify with his father instead, to learn how to channel his aggression and control his emotions. The father relationship is important to the growing young lady, as well--it becomes a safe place to have her femininity validated. Without that father figure in her life, she is more likely to satiate a hunger for male attention in a way that makes her sexually adventurous in inappropriate ways."

  "And the third reason?" Wade prompts.

  "Same-sex relationships have been documented to cause sexual confusion in child
ren, and promiscuity. The message sent is that all choices are equally desirable, that it doesn't matter who you marry. For this reason young people raised in same-sex-relationship households tend to be both sexually active and sexually indiscriminate."

  "You mean they're more likely to form homosexual relationships themselves?"

  "Exactly. Think of ancient Greece, for example. Homosexuality ran rampant--not because of a gay gene but because society condoned it. Condoning this kind of behavior only leads to a proliferation of the behavior."

  "And the final reason same-sex marriage is detrimental to children?"

  "Because it paves the way for even more socially unacceptable relationships. Polyamorous couplings, for example. Can you imagine the emotional ramifications suffered by a child who has a single father but multiple mommies? With whom would that child bond? And if we extrapolate from this--imagine what happens when those marriages disintegrate and then there are remarriages--well, conceivably there could be children with two fathers and six mothers . . ." She shakes her head. "That's not a family, Mr. Preston. That's a commune."

  "Let me ask you, Dr. Newkirk, do your objections stem from an inability of a homosexual couple to provide love to a child?"

  "Absolutely not. Certainly homosexual couples can create just as loving an environment as heterosexual couples. However, kids need more than love. They need the complementary experiences of having a male and a female parent for guidance, instruction, and psychological development."

  "Naysayers will ask what your evidence is," Wade says.

  Dr. Newkirk smiles. "Five thousand years or so of parenting, Mr. Preston. Putting children into a newfangled social experiment could be absolutely devastating to the next generation." She looks over at Zoe. "I have nothing but compassion for homosexuals who want to raise a family. But I can't allow my compassion for them to trounce the needs of innocent children."

  "As a result of all your research, Dr. Newkirk, do you have an expert opinion as to which home would be a more fit and proper placement for these pre-born children?"

  "Yes, I do. I firmly believe that these children would be much better off in the home of Reid and Liddy Baxter."

  "Thank you, Doctor," Wade says, and he turns to Angela Moretti. "Your witness."

  "You say homosexuality isn't genetic, right, Doctor?" Angela begins.

  "There's no evidence to support that."

  "You said the Bailey and Pillard study isn't valid because not every identical twin who identified as gay had a gay twin, correct?"

  "That's right."

  "Are you aware that, even though identical twins share many identical traits, there are certain biological factors that differ between them? Fingerprints, for example?"

  "Well--"

  "And, Doctor, you discounted the LeVay study because it hasn't been confirmed yet with a similar study."

  "That's right," the psychologist says.

  "Are you familiar with the research done on the eight percent of domestic rams who are solely interested in having sex with other rams?"

  "No."

  "Well," Angela Moretti says, "in fact researchers discovered in those rams a bunch of neurons in the hypothalamus that were smaller than they tended to be in heterosexual rams. In fact, the findings were very reminiscent of Simon LeVay's study. Doctor, you also criticized Dean Hamer's research because it hasn't been replicated, correct?"

  "Yes."

  "Does that mean that at some point the study might be replicated?"

  "Naturally I can't predict the future."

  "Are you aware of the Swedish study that identified the differences in the way the brains of straight men and gay men responded to male and female pheromones, which suggested a strong physiological component to homosexuality?"

  "Yes, but--"

  "Do you know that scientists in Vienna have identified a genetic switch for sexual orientation in fruit flies? And that, when they tampered with the switch, female fruit flies ignored males and instead tried to mate with other females by mimicking the mating rituals of male fruit flies?"

  "I was not aware of that, no," the psychologist admits.

  "And did you know, Dr. Newkirk, that there's currently a two-point-five-million-dollar study underwritten by the National Institutes of Health to do genetic screenings of a thousand pairs of gay brothers, in order to better understand the genetic component of homosexuality? You and I both know that government rarely muddies its hands in research regarding sexuality, Doctor. Wouldn't this suggest that even an esteemed institution like the NIH is validating the biological basis for homosexuality?"

  "Anyone can have a hypothesis, Ms. Moretti. Research, though, doesn't always back it up."

  "Then how about Dr. William Reiner, at the University of Oklahoma," Angela asks. "Are you aware that he's studied hundreds of cases of children born with sexual differentiation disorders--such as a baby boy with an undeveloped penis or no penis at all? Typical protocol has involved surgery to castrate the infant, who is then raised as a girl. Did you know, Doctor, that not a single one grew up to be sexually attracted to males? That the majority of those gender-reassigned babies transitioned back to being males, because they were sexually attracted to women? I'd say that's a very clear example of nurture not trumping nature, wouldn't you?"

  "Counselor," the psychologist says, "I assume you are familiar with Darwin's principle of natural selection?"

  "Of course."

  "Then you know that it's an established scientific belief that the primary goal for all species is to pass along the strongest genes to future generations. Since homosexuals produce only twenty percent of the offspring that heterosexuals do, wouldn't this gay gene you're suggesting have long been wiped out by natural selection?" She smiles. "You can't play the biology card if you can't justify that."

  The lawyer brushes off her comment. "I'm just a humble attorney, Dr. Newkirk. I wouldn't presume to dabble in either science or pseudoscience. Now, one of your justifications for raising children in heterosexual unions is that not having both a mother and father is problematic, correct?"

  "Yes."

  "So if one parent in a heterosexual couple dies, is it your position to advocate removing the child and putting him in the home of a different heterosexual couple?"

  "That would be ludicrous. The optimal living situation for any child involves having both a mother and a father, but obviously that can't always be the case. Tragedies happen."

  "Such as keeping an embryo from going to its biological mother?"

  "Objection--"

  The judge frowns. "Sustained."

  "I'll withdraw," Angela Moretti says.

  "Actually, I'd like to answer," Dr. Newkirk says. "I can point Ms. Moretti to numerous studies that prove a boy who grows up without a father is more likely to become a delinquent, and to end up incarcerated."

  "What about your claim that same-sex marriage opens the door for polygamy? In the years since gay marriage has been legal in Massachusetts, has anyone petitioned the legislature for a polygamist union?"

  "I don't follow the legislation in that state . . ."

  "I'll help you out. The answer's no," Angela says. "And no one's asked to get married to a rock or a goat, either." She begins to tick off points on her fingers. "Let me just sum up what I'm hearing from you, Dr. Newkirk. Homosexual parenting leads to all sorts of devastating developmental downfalls for the children involved. Homosexuality isn't innate, it's learned. If you have homosexual parents, you're likely to experiment with homosexual relationships. If you grow up with heterosexual parents, you will grow up to be heterosexual."

  The psychologist nods. "That's about right."

  "Then maybe you can explain something else to me," Angela Moretti says. "How come most gay people have straight parents?" She turns around and walks back to her seat while the psychologist is still trying to find a response. "Nothing further."

  Angela Moretti really doesn't want Pastor Clive to take the stand. "Your Honor," she says, "if Mr. Lincoln i
s a character witness for Max Baxter, there's no need to qualify him as an expert in his field. The study of Max Baxter is not an academic discipline."

  "Pastor Clive is a religious leader and scholar," Wade argues. "He's traveled all over this country preaching the word of God."

  "And you know the one place he can't preach it? In a court of law," Angela replies.

  "I think I want to hear what he has to say," Judge O'Neill says.

  "Of course you do," Angela mutters.

  The judge scowls. "I beg your pardon, Counselor?"

  She looks up. "I said I'm a Jew."

  "Well, I never would have made that assumption, given the fact that your last name comes straight from Federal Hill. But thanks for sharing," he adds. "It puts some of your earlier objections in a much different light. Attorney Preston, you may call your witness."

  When Pastor Clive walks in from wherever he's been sequestered, accompanied by a sheriff, the gallery reacts. The members of the Eternal Glory Church call out hallelujahs and amens; the Westboro Baptist group starts clapping. For his part, Pastor Clive ducks his head humbly and walks down the aisle.

  He asks to be sworn in on his own Bible.

  "Please state your name for the record," Wade says.

  "Clive Lincoln."

  "What do you do for a living?"

  "I'm the pastor of the Eternal Glory Evangelical Church of God."

  "Do you have a family, Pastor?"

  "Yes," Pastor Clive says. "I have a wonderful wife, and God's seen fit to bless us with four beautiful daughters."

  Three of them I know--they're fresh-scrubbed preteens who wear matching dresses and sing with Pastor Clive on Sundays. The other one sits in the back during services and doesn't say a word. Rumor has it she hasn't accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. I can't imagine what a personal embarrassment that must be for someone like Pastor Clive.

  I guess we all have our crosses to bear.

  "Do you know the plaintiff in this matter?"

  "I do. Max joined our congregation about six months ago."

  "Are you familiar with Reid and Liddy Baxter as well?" Wade asks.

  "I've known Reid for fifteen years. He's a business whiz, frankly--he's managed the church's finances for over a decade. We may have been the only nonprofit that made money during the recession." Pastor Clive rolls his eyes upward. "Then again, we just might have had Someone looking out for us in the stock market."