Sex Preselection
...icrosort published its findings in September 1998, opening a door to the public into a world many never thought possible (Belkin 30). Of the 14 pregnancies among couples who wanted girls, 13 produced females (at the time their findings were published). Currently, 295 out of 325 babies were female and thirty-nine out of fifty-one were male (Genetics and I.V.F. Institute). Microsort may be the first of many technological advances in the field of genetic engineering that may change the world, as we know it. Who knows? Perhaps a couple’s ability to choose their baby’s eye color, height, I.Q., and even personality may be next. In a recent case before the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority in the United Kingdom, a family with four boys that had lost their young daughter in a fire, asked to be allowed to choose female embryos for in-vitro fertilization. The H.F.E.A. refused, fearing that sex selection for purposes other than to prevent a sex-linked disease, such as hemophilia, would push British society toward eugenics (creating a better world by improving the human gene pool), or at least overuse of sex-selection (Brownlee 30). Other than the Microsort method of sex selection, there are two other ways of choosing a baby’s gender. The two other methods are pre-natal testing and termination of pregnancy, and pre-implantation genetic testing of embryos. The method of pre-natal testing and termination of pregnancy has already been a source of major debate in India. In the year 2001, the ratio of boys to girls in India declined to 927 girls to 1000 boys. The ratio is as low as 800 girls to 1000 boys in some areas. Sex selection has led to major skewed ratios of boys to girls in these countries. However, in countries such as the United States, the opposite is true. “Perhaps because women in the western world have more reproductive control than ever before, they also are more influential in choosing the sex of their children”, Gilbert says. “With this fundamental freedom in place, women are likelier to enjoy the experience of being women. Feeling positive about her own future, today's woman can be confident that her daughter will encounter similar and possibly better opportunities for career, love and happiness.” In addition, 325 prospective parents have used Microsort to try for a girl, while only 51 have tried for a boy. In the UK, terminating a pregnancy based on the baby’s gender was outlawed. The method of PGD of embryos is regulated by the HFEA. They agree that it should not be used for sex selection, except in the case of avoiding sex-linked genetic diseases. Currently, the HFEA is contemplating putting a ban on or at least regulating, sperm sorting (the Microsort method). One main reason for banning sex selection for family balancing purposes is sexism. Giving people the ability to choose their baby’s gender will only make gender stereotypes worse. Another reason for doing away with sex selection for non-medical reasons is that if it were allowed by sperm sorting, it would be impossible to oppose the use of PGD for family balancing. In addition, sex selection is wrong for moral reasons. People should accept what they are given. A parent should love their children regardless of their hair color or their IQ (Human Genetics Alert). If I knew my baby was going to be healthy, the sex of the baby wouldn’t matter to me. I can always dream of having one boy and one girl, but in reality, I would be happy anything. While the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority in the United Kingdom thinks sex selection for family balancing is wrong, the American Society of Reproductive Medicine approves of sex selection. In 1999 the ASRM released a statement that said “selecting embryos solely to have a child of a particular sex should be discouraged.” They also highly discouraged PGD, for the reason that it was throwing away potential babies. Recently, with the new technology of sperm sorting, the ASRM said sex selection is fine. John Robertson, head of the committee, believes gender pre-selection is fine for reasons of “gender variety.” He thinks it is okay for a family that has a boy to use sperm sorting to guarantee that their next child will be a girl (Kolata A16). However, there are so many more reasons why sex selection in any method shouldn’t be allowed for non-medical reasons. Parents should be happy with any outcome. If they are not going to be happy with a certain gender, then they should just not have children at all. Another option is adoption. By adopting a child, parents are guaranteed that the child is the sex they desire. While I would never choose my baby’s sex for non-medical purposes, I find nothing wrong with people who do. There isn’t a huge demand in this country for a certain sex, so I don’t believe sex pre-selection would affect out society that much. In addition, I think it shouldn’t be banned in the United States. If people want to do it, go right ahead. While I believe sex selection for family balancing reasons is wrong, I think I agree with most people, that sex selection should be used for medical purposes. Most couples at risk for transmitting an X-linked condition are identified by either review of the family history or birth of an affected child. The ability to separate X and Y bearing sperm cells now provides new and previously unavailable opportunities for women who are carriers of X-linked disorders to have an unaffected child. Over 500 X-linked diseases have been identified and occur in approximately 1 in 1000 live births. Many X-linked diseases are extremely devastating or fatal, including hemophilia (life threatening and debilitating spontaneous bleeding), Duchenne muscular dystrophy (the most common and severe form of the muscular dystrophies), Lesch-Nyhan syndrome (self-mutilation), and X-linked mental retardation (the most common cause of inherited mental retardation). Couples at risk for transmitting an X-linked disorder can have an unaffected child by pre-selecting the sex of the child. In most cases, X-linked diseases are only expressed in the male offspring of carrier mothers. In these cases, girls born from couples at risk for transmitting an X-linked disorder are generally unaffected (Genetics and I.V.F. Institute). Bauer, director of Microsort, says the process reduces the risk of passing on a genetic disorder from twenty-five percent to about five percent. But does doing this put parents in the posi...