Girl or Boy??

I read this article recently in Newsweek about how certain clinics offer people the opportunity to choose the sex of their baby. The link is below.

Honestly, I didn't realize this was available to the general public. How does everyone feel about this? Should this be legal? Does it open up a can of worms?

I'll answer my own question: I can't find a logical reason why I would object to this, but it somehow doesn't feel right. (Not much of an answer, sorry!)

Thoughts?


Disclaimer: It is my sincere hope that this post neither offends nor upsets anyone. I'm just curious to know what people's thoughts are. To those at the point where you couldn't possibly care less what the baby was, I offer lots and lots of baby dust, and I patted (pat?) my friend's pregnant belly today so my dust is nice and fresh!


Girl or Boy?

I skimmed the article...but they are right...'Brave New World' did you ever read that book? this has scary possibilities...


the other problem I see is in cultures where one gender is more desirable...


in China couples can only have one child (as a basic rule...it is a bit more complicated) and traditionally the son is very important in China...so there is a high rate of female infanticide and 95% of children in orphanages are famale...


the problem is that 60% of the population born since 1980 (the policy date) are male...and this can only increase...there are concerns that there will be kidnapping of women and worse - b/c of the lack of woman...


I jsut think it opens a can of worms and we aren't prepared for the consequences...


ETA: when babies are made in test-tubes there is a lower chance that the healthiest sperm fertilizes the egg...therefore many weak sperm are being used...and fertilizing the eggs...which in my layman opinion could cause health issues

Go Erica! LOL I agree with everything you just said.
I didn't read the article....but in a nutshell, I don't think it's a good thing. I think some things should be left out of our control, because we would not be prepared, or able to control the consequences.

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Posted by yabbobay

ETA: when babies are made in test-tubes there is a lower chance that the healthiest sperm fertilizes the egg...therefore many weak sperm are being used...and fertilizing the eggs...which in my layman opinion could cause health issues

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Erica, where did this info come from?

I didn't read the article either, but my understanding is that most clinics using this sperm sorting technology are offering it for 2 basic reasons: 1) familes with genetic illnesses linked to one sex, like hemophilia, that can be prevented by having a child of the other sex 2)families with at least one child of the other gender already

I have to be honest, at this point, if I had 2 boys in a row I would seriously consider doing sperm sorting to have a girl, with the knowledge of course, that it isn't 100%. I think if used within limits the technology has its place.

I think some things are better left to Mother Nature


But I agree in cases where it is because of a possible genetic defect, it would be something to look into.