MovieChat Forums > The Theory of Everything (2014) Discussion > Hawking's ability to have children

Hawking's ability to have children

posted 10 years ago by Cali7
11 replies | jump to latest

I'm still a bit confused about Hawking's ability to father children. He tells his Cambridge friend that his "man parts" are still in working order, which I find a bit difficult to believe. Also, I know the film left it up in the air, but was the third child biologically Hawking's or the choir leader's? I guess I could do some research into this online myself lol but wondered if anyone had any thoughts on the subject.

[–] RiniculousNick 10 years ago

As long as he has the ability to be aroused, he could still do his thing (if you know what I mean) and have children. The third child is Hawking's child.

[–] shauni15 10 years ago

ALS doesnt affect sexual potency in the slightest

its a brain disorder, not a physical thing your limbs still technically work, your brain just cant tell them to. and since your dick doesnt exactly work like that it's not affected.

[–] lemon_tart 10 years ago

I like his friend's comment about that in the movie - "That explains a lot about men"!

[–] eaf17 10 years ago

Just saw this movie this weekend, and I was shocked to see that he was able to have kids. I didn't know that was possible with ALS.

[–] palisade-1 10 years ago

I was shocked to see that he was able to have kids. I didn't know that was possible with ALS.

Yes, it is quite possible (though not in the later stages of the disease). Stephen Hawking's ALS is a non-familial form (not hereditary) and also a form that progresses slowly. ALS in the earlier stages affects motor neurons controlling voluntary movements, such as walking, lifting etc. and does not affect either fertility or sexual function. Paraplegics and others in wheelchairs are also quite capable of sexual relations and procreation. This fact sheet from an ALS society explains some of the details:

https://www.als.ca/sites/default/files/files/Sexuality,%2520Intimacy%2520And%2520Chronic%2520Illness.pdf

Hawking's three children were born in the first 15 years after his diagnosis, before the disease had progressed to the point where he needed a breathing tube, etc. although he was in a wheelchair.

[–] AimC 10 years ago

Since it was non-hereditary, how did he contract it? Infection?

[–] palisade-1 10 years ago

Since it was non-hereditary, how did he contract it? Infection?

No, ALS is not caused by infection. A small number of ALS cases are hereditary (autosomal recessive), but Hawking's case is not one of them. The others represent a disparate group of related but not identical congenital neurodegenerative diseases, which present somewhat differently from each other and which have a variety of known causes (mutations on various genes). These occur in a random manner, and for this reason are called sporadic ALS. The incidence is increasing world-wide, but the reasons for this are unknown.

Scientists hypothesize that there are environmental factors that predispose individuals to ALS (veterans and some athletes are more than twice as likely to develop ALS as non-veterans/athletes); studies are being done on toxins such as lead, mercury, manganese, radiation, pesticides, but nothing conclusive has so far turned up and the number of individuals in the controlled studies is small..

[–] bl82-1 9 years ago

He got it because life's not fair. I realize that's a sucky answer, but ALS is a sucky disease. It could have been environmental, or an infection, or a combination of factors. Sometimes there is no why, or how. It just happens. That's the only reason I can think that people as brilliantly gifted as Hawking and Gehrig got stuck with it.

Maybe someday we'll have a cure for it.

[–] badtothebono 10 years ago

Example #4: This OP

[–] shante-baker 10 years ago

ALS affects voluntary movement. Erections and ejaculation are involuntary, your brain can't tell those things to happen, like you can't tell your heart to beat or hold your breath until you suffocate. That's what he meant when he said "different system."

[–] natalie-zayas-bazan 9 years ago

all of this. also, like he says in the film 'different system'. i said this in another thread but i have spina bifida and am partially paralzyed from the waist down. can't feel when i have to go #1 or #2. you would think that would affect feeling menstrual cranps right? WRONG. i feel those suckers like you won't believe. it doesn't say 'a lot about men' it says a lot about voluntary versus involuntary. can i carry a child? yes. can i push it out? no. i'll have to have a c-section. (sorry if that was tmi, just wanted to explain the difference. lol)