I think that the same "abomination" word is used to wearing clothing made of mixed wool and linen.

Also, in one of the Chick Tracts, there was a panel that had footnotes supposedly listing all the biblical references for homosexuality being wrong. One of them was Ezekiel 16:49, which is

49 " 'Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.

Which seems to be saying nothing at all about homosexuality. And the point of that chapter is "You guys are even WORSE than Sodom and Samaria, but I'm going to restore you, anyway."

So, in short, the risks go up but it's more random and less doomy than it seems; between the genetic counseling we got and the masses of reading I did at the time, it looks like, if you're otherwise healthy with no risk factors besides your age, by the time the risk of serious birth defects becomes statistically significant you're going to be old enough that conceiving at all is increasingly unlikely.

t points and nods

I was born to a 38-year-old mom and am seriously considering trying for a second child that would be born when I'm 38 or 39, and while I do think about the increased risk of Down's and other genetic issues, the odds of it happening are still extremely low.

Really, AFAIC the worst of having older parents is you end up losing your parents at an age where many of your friends still have living grandparents.

I think that the same "abomination" word is used to wearing clothing made of mixed wool and linen.

That's exactly what kills me -- people who claim to be living by Biblical law, except OBVIOUSLY not all of them.

Although the Duggars just might do that one, which is why their clothes are all so bad.

In some very religious Jewish neighborhoods, there are shops where you can bring clothing to have someone check to make sure there isn't any linen/wool mixture in it. Apparently some brands will use a linen/wool mixture as the lining in the lapels of suits, so these shops will test the stuff like that and replace it with some other material if it is the wrong kind of fabric.

Would a cotton/poly blend be OK, or is it literally just the linen/wool?

It's literally just linen/wool.

One explanation I've heard is something about it not being right to combine a plant fiber with an animal fiber, but I can't recall ever seeing any sort of commonly accepted reasoning for that prohibition.

Huh!

BTW, here's a bit from Deuteronomy 22:

“A woman shall not wear man’s clothing, nor shall a man put on a woman’s clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God. 6 “If you happen to come upon a bird’s nest along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young; 7 you shall certainly let the mother go, but the young you may take for yourself, in order that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days. 8 “When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, so that you will not bring bloodguilt on your house if anyone falls from it. 9 “You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, or all the produce of the seed which you have sown and the increase of the vineyard will become defiled. 10 “You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. 11 “You shall not wear a material mixed of wool and linen together. 12 “You shall make yourself tassels on the four corners of your garment with which you cover yourself.

So, basically, I feel like if you don't have a parapet, you're already screwed.

“You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

There go my weekend plans....

“You shall make yourself tassels on the four corners of your garment with which you cover yourself.

Guess I'll spend the weekend making tassels instead....