First off, good job at getting your threads going again, Kim. You are a toughie and you have proved it once again. The Ice Age, the harsh criticisms on CC, nothing can ever get you down!!
Anywhoooo..... This is a good question, Kim and Nautilus has raised another interesting point.
I think we need some context to answer your question. I want to draw an analogy to our position vis-a-vis this issue. In India, we have a particular sect of Hindus called
Brahmins. The
Brahmins are the purest of the Hindus. Believed to be Aryans, Brahmins spend their time devoted to the spiritual matters, leaving the mundane chores of life (defending the land, trade, farming and sanitation) to the castes beneath them. In some parts of India, the
Brahmins also took upon themselves the aristocracy, thereby becoming a demigod to the people of their lands.
There is a particular trait of
Brahmin culture - vegetarianism. This stems from the belief that eating anything that is of animals is unholy and defiled. However, what they define as holy and unholy varies from region to region, and on close examination, is often dictated by the local vegetation and diet. For example, in the city I live in,
Brahmins do not eat eggs, fish or any livestock meat. However, in a region from Eastern India,
Brahmins consider fish as part of their staple diet. This paradox can be explained only by the local vegetation. The region where the latter
Brahmins live consists of swamps which are often flooded during the monsoon period. Hence, farming was quite rare and the locals live on a diet of fishes caught from the adjacent sea or the marshes. The
Brahmins therefore made an exception to fish as it was a question of their survival - eat fish or die trying to stick to their vegetarian diet.
I want to stretch your question and add 2 different scenarios to it. Please assume that in both situations, the net proceeds from sale of the drugs developed by the gay doctor would go towards furthering the cause of the LGBT community.
Scenario 1 - Would you take a cure for cancer if it had been developed by a gay doctor
and there is no other alternative available in the market?
Scenario 2 - Would you take a cure for cancer that has been developed by a gay doctor
but there are other alternatives available in the market? (assume both options cost the same, have the same treatment period, give the same side-effects, are launched at the same time, have undergone the same clinical trial process ... something like generic drug vs branded drug)
Will your position change between scenario 1 and scenario 2? I would appreciate your honest responses.
As for me, yes, my position would change. In Scenario 1, I will go with the cure developed by the gay doctor. In Scenario 2, I will not go with the cure developed by the gay doctor. I accept that my behaviour is not consistent, and I have no moral justification for it.