The idea of a couple choosing the sex of a child can seem to some people to be a 'space-agey', 'modern-science-gone-mad' idea. However, it is not a new concept.
'Natural gender selection' is a method that couples have used to influence the sex of their children for years. It involves the careful timing of intercourse to raise the chance of either a 'girl' sperm or a 'boy' sperm reaching the egg first. 'Girl' sperm are slower, but live longer, whilst 'boy' sperm are faster but don't live as long. Therefore, a couple wishing to conceive a girl would try in the days before ovulation, and those wanting a boy would try during/after ovulation. The medical-scientific version of this is a far more invasive process, selecting which sperm will be used and eliminating the chance for the others.
The moral implications of this choice are the possibility of preventing a life based on the sex of the person that would be born. Religions such as Catholicism forbid the use of contraception for this very reason - they believe that every life is sacred and that no potential life should be denied.
However, sex-specific medical issues are a reality - be that hereditary conditions only affecting girls/boys, or conditions which prevent a mother from being able to carry a child of a particular sex. Should these parents be subjected to years of heartbreak, failed pregnancies or infertility? Should they be told that the survival of their child will depend on their sex? Or should they be given the chance to be parents to healthy children, by way of selecting their gender?
The 'selfish' reasons for sex selection can influence many people's opinions of this topic - parents who have multiple boys and want a girl, for example. People see this as placing a higher value on one sex over another, and this can be damaging - not only for the existing children, who may feel inferior or disappointing as a result of their sex, but to the future, pre-selected child, who may feel that they must live up to their parents' expectations.
With conditions such as Gender Identity Disorder randomly affecting people, regardless of whether their parents selected their sex, this can make a tough situation even worse. After all, you can choose your child's sex, but you can't choose which gender they associate with.
Whilst the idea of sex selection is not a new one, it is still a highly controversial topic, with many factors to consider. There are medical conditions which may justify the procedure, but does this open the door to 'designer babies'? Will people see this as an opportunity, not only to get the sex of child they always wanted, but to select the hair colour, eye colour, body type, intelligence of their child also?
Without medical guidelines for who would be eligible for this procedure, for what justifies sex selection, the potential moral consequences would outweigh the benefits.
- 30 minute timed essay
- A response to the following prompt:
'For parents to choose the sex of their unborn child is neither natural nor desirable'
'Natural gender selection' is a method that couples have used to influence the sex of their children for years. It involves the careful timing of intercourse to raise the chance of either a 'girl' sperm or a 'boy' sperm reaching the egg first. 'Girl' sperm are slower, but live longer, whilst 'boy' sperm are faster but don't live as long. Therefore, a couple wishing to conceive a girl would try in the days before ovulation, and those wanting a boy would try during/after ovulation. The medical-scientific version of this is a far more invasive process, selecting which sperm will be used and eliminating the chance for the others.
The moral implications of this choice are the possibility of preventing a life based on the sex of the person that would be born. Religions such as Catholicism forbid the use of contraception for this very reason - they believe that every life is sacred and that no potential life should be denied.
However, sex-specific medical issues are a reality - be that hereditary conditions only affecting girls/boys, or conditions which prevent a mother from being able to carry a child of a particular sex. Should these parents be subjected to years of heartbreak, failed pregnancies or infertility? Should they be told that the survival of their child will depend on their sex? Or should they be given the chance to be parents to healthy children, by way of selecting their gender?
The 'selfish' reasons for sex selection can influence many people's opinions of this topic - parents who have multiple boys and want a girl, for example. People see this as placing a higher value on one sex over another, and this can be damaging - not only for the existing children, who may feel inferior or disappointing as a result of their sex, but to the future, pre-selected child, who may feel that they must live up to their parents' expectations.
With conditions such as Gender Identity Disorder randomly affecting people, regardless of whether their parents selected their sex, this can make a tough situation even worse. After all, you can choose your child's sex, but you can't choose which gender they associate with.
Whilst the idea of sex selection is not a new one, it is still a highly controversial topic, with many factors to consider. There are medical conditions which may justify the procedure, but does this open the door to 'designer babies'? Will people see this as an opportunity, not only to get the sex of child they always wanted, but to select the hair colour, eye colour, body type, intelligence of their child also?
Without medical guidelines for who would be eligible for this procedure, for what justifies sex selection, the potential moral consequences would outweigh the benefits.
- 30 minute timed essay
- A response to the following prompt:
'For parents to choose the sex of their unborn child is neither natural nor desirable'
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