 |
| PGD http://uchealth.com/fertility/patient-services/pgd-pgs-preimplantation-genetic-diagnosis-screening/ |
 |
| MicroSort (www.baby-gender-online.com) |
This idea of sex-selection is growing rapidly. In a study done by John Hopkins University, it was found that last year one of every 11 PGDs was used for sex-selection, and also that 42 percent of clinics that offer PGD offer it for sex-selection (Norris NPR). At the Huntington Reproductive Center in Southern California, specialist Dr. Daniel Potter is one of the many doctors who are helping prospective parents determine and decide the sex of their children. Although such procedures have been "discouraged" by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (Eliot p.24), Dr. Potter doesn't agree, he actually believes he is "fulfilling his patients' reproductive rights" (Norris NPR). Dr. Potter claims that it is "presumptuous of any organization to try to assert that a woman should or shouldn't be able to determine the number of children she wants to have or the gender of these children" (Norris NPR). This seems like a logical argument. The couple chose to have a child, with all the worries involved in having a child why should they be denied the right to determine the most important characteristic about their new baby. This is not to say that sex and gender are the most important aspect of an adult, however, when somebody you know is having a child, the first question you ask, and EVERYBODY asks them is, "is it a boy or a girl?" If this is the case, is it all that wrong to allow the parents to say, "we decided we wanted a boy." At first glance, the simply answer for me was... no it doesn't seem wrong.
 |
| lifeatthirtysomething.com |
Of course, to every story there are two sides, and for the story of sex and gender determining technologies both sides have extremely valid points. Some claim, like Sujatha Jasudussin the program director at the Center for Genetics and Society in Oakland, that being able to choose the sexy of a newborn baby is a new way to discriminate sexes. She claims that "there is a whole tone in the culture that says girls are just not as desirable" (Norris NPR). On the one hand, this is supported by the 25 percent of Dr. Potter's patients who come for sex selection born in a foreign country. Those from China, India, and Korea ask for a boy 90 percent of the time, adding "up to six boys a month in just his clinic." On the other hand, 80 percent of Dr. Potter's American born patients ask for girls (Norris NPR). It seems overall that boys are selected more frequently. Chinese, Indian, and Korean families are selecting boys at a rate of 150 to 100 if they've already had a girl, while American families select boys at a rate of 105 to 100 regardless of an older siblings sex (Eliot p. 24). This slight skew towards boys in American families and large skew in foreign families may soon become a large problem if these types of practices continue. Unlike the US, many countries have banned this use of PGD and other in-vitro fertilization methods. Canada for instance banned any use that is "beyond detecting sex-linked disorders..." (Eliot p. 24). But, if the first step is admitting there's a problem, then the US isn't close to solving it. As Eliot puts it, "it seems clear that sex-selection technology is here to stay unless doctors themselves reject the idea that... 'being a boy or girl is a medical handicap'" (Eliot p.25).
I think this debate will continue on for many years to come. The argument that parents have a right to choose what they're child's sex will be seems logical, at least to me. While the idea that if used irresponsibly, these methods can be used to sexually discriminate also has truth. In the end, I can only voice my opinion of the matter. This technology has a place and time. If sex-selection has to be used for a genetic disease, then I see no reason why a parent should be restricted in using these technologies. Besides this however, I find it difficult to justify. I'd like to hope that when it comes down to it all, if there is one thing EVERY parent wants when having a baby... it's a HEALTHY baby... boy... or girl.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6654619
Elito, Lise. Pink Brain, Blue Brain: how small difference grow into troublesome gaps and what we can do about it. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. 2009. Print
I liked the article. There are many process of select baby gender. People are more eager in learning these methods since this has brought revolutionary change in our modern life. I loved your work because there were many details on this which was new to me.
ReplyDelete