Being Able to Choose the Sex of Your Child

  • wx12

    wx12 (10125)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    32
    Location:
    United States
    heyJAYhey:
    I'm not sure I understand how this would even work...

    From what I've learned in all my biology classes, gender works like this (this being a very over-simplified version): all human beings with normal sex chromosomes have either XY (male) or XX (female). Children automatically get one X from their mother, and during spermatogenesis the sex cells divide into sperm either carrying an X or Y chromosome. The meeting of the X egg cell and the either X or Y sperm cell determines the gender of the child.

    Where in this process does the decision come in?
    Genetic engineering. Couples can have doctors select a particular sperm for the "ideal" chromosome.
    December 20th, 2010 at 03:50am
  • InspirasiGirl

    InspirasiGirl (100)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    26
    Location:
    United States
    Does anyone thinks that different gender twins are unusual? Shouldn't they be one gender pairs??
    May 11th, 2011 at 07:07pm
  • wxyz

    wxyz (240)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    96
    Location:
    Aland Islands
    ^ If they're dizygotic twins (a.k.a. unidentical twins), i.e. the result of two eggs being fertilised simultaneously by two different sperm, then it's perfectly possible for them to be different genders. This is as opposed to monozygotic twins (identical twins), which occurs when an egg is fertilised and then splits. Identical twins are always the same gender.
    May 11th, 2011 at 07:29pm
  • turntech godhead

    turntech godhead (100)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    29
    Location:
    United States
    Interesting idea, but the problem is that sex doesn't always equal gender and so if you make your child female, they could still turn out to be a boy or vice versa.
    June 17th, 2012 at 11:41pm
  • Quirky

    Quirky (120)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    31
    Location:
    United States
    First off, if this would be done by means of sex-selective abortions, I think it's highly unethical. I understand the necessity of China's one-child policy and their use of abortions to control population, but the fact that their culture favors boys over girls to carry on the family name disgusts me. People place far too much importance on gender. My reproductive organs do not define who I am.
    June 25th, 2012 at 06:10pm
  • folie a dru.

    folie a dru. (1270)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    36
    Location:
    United States
    It's a good idea for genetic disorders, but not for picking boy vs. girl just 'cause. I know individuals who didn't have children for fear of passing on a disorder.
    June 25th, 2012 at 09:04pm
  • EffieTrinket

    EffieTrinket (100)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    28
    Location:
    Canada
    This topic to me seems to be a battle of morals.
    Since I'm not religious I'm not afraid of insulting my God, but I also feel like this is something to be left up to Mother Nature. I feel like everything happens for a reason, even if it isn't revealed to us.
    This could be justified upon finding out you are pregnant, and either you or your partner have a disease that your child has a greater chance of receiving if they are certain gender.
    After that, I feel like that opportunity of choosing your child's gender would just taken advantage of. Who's going to stop some families that are doing it for unjust reasons?
    There should be a limit, but I don't know how we would invoke this limit. I believe that if we can start to virtually "customize" our child into the ultimate baby, and aborting the rest, are we not just one step behind some other historical issues?
    June 27th, 2012 at 11:03pm
  • EffieTrinket

    EffieTrinket (100)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    28
    Location:
    Canada
    @ Quirky
    And the fact that China allows abortions farther along in the woman's pregnancy than any other country is appalling. I get it, their population is absolutely massive, but at some point I feel like there should be a line drawn.
    June 27th, 2012 at 11:04pm
  • jewelia.

    jewelia. (2225)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    24
    Location:
    United States
    I don't see any harm in picking the gender of your child. I want no more and no less than two children; a boy and a girl. If I could, I would probably pick the gender of the child. It's not like you're killing the child--it's still the same organism, just a different gender.
    June 29th, 2012 at 07:41pm
  • wx12

    wx12 (10125)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    32
    Location:
    United States
    itsy bitsy spider.:
    I don't see any harm in picking the gender of your child. I want no more and no less than two children; a boy and a girl. If I could, I would probably pick the gender of the child. It's not like you're killing the child--it's still the same organism, just a different gender.
    I think that would depend on how you went about sex selection. It can involve abortion or selective reduction if you use in vitro fertilization. PGD and CVS both can tell you the gender of a baby early on in pregnancy, but they can't change the existing gender- you'd have to abort and try again.

    Methods like sperm sorting are not guaranteed to be effective all the time either; you could spend alot of money and still end up with a baby of the undesired sex.
    June 29th, 2012 at 07:51pm
  • folie a dru.

    folie a dru. (1270)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    36
    Location:
    United States
    @ itsy bitsy spider.
    You're assuming gender and sex are the same thing, as well. You can only select your child's sex (biological sex), but you can't select their gender (psychological). So you could make yourself a little boy who is actually a little girl and will have a lifetime of hassle with the whole transgender issue because she was given a penis instead of the vagina she should have been born with.

    ---

    I mean, I understand. I want two boys and two girls, but I don't think that the benefits outweigh the risks when you're doing it so you 'get what you want'. I mean, if you aren't ready to have a kid that isn't your preferred gender, you aren't mature enough to be a parent.
    June 29th, 2012 at 08:37pm
  • wx12

    wx12 (10125)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    32
    Location:
    United States
    of dru's being.:
    I mean, I understand. I want two boys and two girls, but I don't think that the benefits outweigh the risks when you're doing it so you 'get what you want'. I mean, if you aren't ready to have a kid that isn't your preferred gender, you aren't mature enough to be a parent.
    I don't think you should go into parenthood with any expectations of what your child will be, sex, gender or otherwise. I mean, every parent or expectant parent day dreams about what their kids will be like and the things they'll do, but you have to realize those are fantasies and may not be anything close to reality.
    June 29th, 2012 at 09:36pm
  • jewelia.

    jewelia. (2225)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    24
    Location:
    United States
    @ of dru's being.

    My mistake, I apologize--I now know that gender and sex aren't the same thing. I would never be one to choose the gender of my child; but the sex I wouldn't have a problem with. Also, I wouldn't mind at all if I had two boys or two girls, because I would love my children no matter what and it would be no different what sexes they were.

    You're right, though--you aren't mature enough to be a parent if you aren't ready to have a child that isn't what your preferred gender is. One of my parents had a co-worker who aborted his child because it was a girl, not a boy like he wanted, and his wife was totally against it. It was heartbreaking and they eventually aborted it. Terrible.

    I'll probably rephrase what I said before: if I was going to have two boys or two girls (which I wouldn't know until I have my second child, assuming I don't have twins), I would let it be. Aside from abortion, I don't think that choosing the sex of your child is bad, as long as it doesn't go to the extremes of abortion.
    June 29th, 2012 at 11:21pm
  • folie a dru.

    folie a dru. (1270)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    36
    Location:
    United States
    @ itsy bitsy spider.
    I think you missed what I said though. Just because you can choose the sex of your child, doesn't mean their gender will follow suit. You may be able to make the choice to give the fetus a penis or vagina, but the penis may already have a psychological gender that you cannot change. It would be like giving a child a sex change operation without their consent...
    June 30th, 2012 at 01:22am
  • Crash Thrusts.

    Crash Thrusts. (100)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    30
    Location:
    United States
    I don't know if I'd ever want to choose the sex of my child. I mean, I'd love it if my first child was a girl, but I think leaving it up to nature is something I prefer. My boyfriend wants all boys, but I don't. Just imagine the horror.
    July 3rd, 2012 at 08:25pm
  • wx12

    wx12 (10125)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    32
    Location:
    United States
    of dru's being.:
    @ itsy bitsy spider.
    I think you missed what I said though. Just because you can choose the sex of your child, doesn't mean their gender will follow suit. You may be able to make the choice to give the fetus a penis or vagina, but the penis may already have a psychological gender that you cannot change. It would be like giving a child a sex change operation without their consent...
    Definitely, and I think the fixation on a child's genitalia is a little weird, personally.
    July 3rd, 2012 at 08:35pm
  • chai latte

    chai latte (225)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    30
    Location:
    United States
    I feel like I should think there's something morally "wrong" with picking the sex of your child, especially if it's done through abortion (I'm passionately pro-choice btw), but I honestly just don't. I mean, it's your kid and if you have the ability to pick what you want, especially because I know some people are so set on wanting either a boy or a girl, than why not? I think you should have that right.

    Of course though, like Dru said, sex is no guarantee of gender so in the end, it could end up being irrelevant.
    July 4th, 2012 at 02:41am
  • folie a dru.

    folie a dru. (1270)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    36
    Location:
    United States
    @ chai latte
    But that right can make you have a child that is born into the wrong body. I don't think your rights should be able to do that.
    July 4th, 2012 at 03:45am
  • wx12

    wx12 (10125)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    32
    Location:
    United States
    of dru's being.:
    @ chai latte
    But that right can make you have a child that is born into the wrong body. I don't think your rights should be able to do that.
    How would it make them be born in the wrong body? Every egg cell has the same chance of being fertilized by an x or y bearing sperm, and sex selection works by isolating x or y carrying sperm before fertilization. You can't change the sex of an already fertilized and growing zygote.
    July 4th, 2012 at 04:58am
  • folie a dru.

    folie a dru. (1270)

    :
    Member
    Gender:
    Age:
    36
    Location:
    United States
    @ Kurtni
    So what you're saying is that people can't change the sex of the child? I'm really confused. It sounds like you're saying they can't change the sex of the child, but I thought they could (and thus this thread).
    July 4th, 2012 at 05:13pm