Sex selection

[TrueTears]

If this was allowed, China => 85% male, 10% female, 5% genderless supercomputer geniuses... possibly psychic.

lol that is actually so true...

[Ahmad]

This doesn't seem so bad provided there is some way to manage the sex ratio.

[/0]

I'm gonna say yes. In the end, it's best for the parents and the children. If the parents are desperately hoping for one gender and get the other, they may not be as loving towards their child. Conversely, it also benefits them by making them happy. In the end everyone wins.
I don't think this will even cause problems on the large scale. If people lean towards one gender, then the other will become ever more valuable (in a utilitarian sense).
I'm also for testing for genetic disorders, but against selecting "the best of the bunch" like they do in Gattaca. As long as the baby is healthy and happy then all is well.

One possible psychological impact to the children is when they find out they had their sex chosen. Of course the reaction will differ from person to person, and it could have a possibly large effect on some people. not sure to be honest but still a possibility.

Well I don't think that's a problem. As far as I know, you don't 'have your sex chosen'. It is rather the case that 'you' are chosen, out of a pool of XY (male) and XX (female) chromosome 23s.

If this was allowed, China => 85% male, 10% female, 5% genderless supercomputer geniuses... possibly psychic.

This. Some countries would end up with insane Male to Female ratios. However I think everyone should have to right to make decisions about their children.

But what about wanting to continue your genetic line? If there are more females than males in the world then that's an incentive to have a boy, where as vice versa that's an incentive to have a girl.

I guess if necessary there could also be government incentives; we would need to keep a closer eye on the number of each gender.

Besides, we are moving towards a world of gender equality (at least I hope so), and apparently even countries like China are not as male-centric (in terms of wanting sons instead of daughters) as they used to be.

[Russ]

Use that technology for curing genetic diseases or something for fucks sake.

They do. But the money raised through more trivial tests/procedures is necessary to contribute to that. It's like how the sales of Viagra (a lifestyle drug) help fund research into drugs that actually save lives.

[jimmy999]

If a parent can't love their child because they're not the gender they wanted them to be, then clearly they don't deserve to be parents at all. A true parent is one who loves their child no matter what.

Selecting the sex of a baby is the first step to selecting how your child will be so parents only have the type of child they want.

Personally, if I do ever have children, I would prefer to have a son and a daughter. However if I only have one of the genders, then I wouldn't love them any less

[lolbox]

If a parent can't love their child because they're not the gender they wanted them to be, then clearly they don't deserve to be parents at all. A true parent is one who loves their child no matter what.

Agreeddddd. massively

[Eriny]

If a parent can't love their child because they're not the gender they wanted them to be, then clearly they don't deserve to be parents at all. A true parent is one who loves their child no matter what.

QFT. Children don't turn out exactly as their parents might think/hope/want, and if you can't cope with something as silly as gender, how are you going to cope with major life choices that you find disagreeable?

[/0]

If a parent can't love their child because they're not the gender they wanted them to be, then clearly they don't deserve to be parents at all. A true parent is one who loves their child no matter what.

QFT. Children don't turn out exactly as their parents might think/hope/want, and if you can't cope with something as silly as gender, how are you going to cope with major life choices that you find disagreeable?

Agreed, but should we stop these people from having children? They will have children regardless of whether gender can be chosen.

[teebagger*]

Unless there's some kind of genetic disorder in a family that only effects one of the sexes, then no?

[Glockmeister]

Unless there's some kind of genetic disorder in a family that only effects one of the sexes, then no?

That sort of idea would mean that there would be a major gender inequality towards males since the vast majority of sex-linked. genetic disorders affects males

[schmalex]

It sounds okay, but what if you ask for a girl and she ends up dykish? You've placed all these expectations on having a cute little girl and she ends up acting a lot like a boy (no offence to anyone, I'm a disappointment to my mum who wishes I'd wear make-up more often), the same could happen if they decide they want a boy so he can play sports or something. Parents need to learn to accept their children for who they are.

[slothpomba]

Long as it doesnt cause health problems to the child why not? i mean its a little vain and selfish but people do vain and selfish things all the time.

Assuming this wont lead one day to a massive imbalance in male to female ratios then im fine with it.

[teebagger*]

Unless there's some kind of genetic disorder in a family that only effects one of the sexes, then no?

That sort of idea would mean that there would be a major gender inequality towards males since the vast majority of sex-linked. genetic disorders affects males

Good point. But I was thinking of, idk, really extreme disorders. Like my teacher's neighbour/friend. All of her sons died by the age of 10 because of some disorder and she had to make sure that her next child was a daughter. I wouldn't not have a son just because he has a bigger chance of being, say, colour blind.

[jimmy999]

Long as it doesnt cause health problems to the child why not? i mean its a little vain and selfish but people do vain and selfish things all the time.

Assuming this wont lead one day to a massive imbalance in male to female ratios then im fine with it.

In the end it's the woman who carries the child and most likely to make the final decision. Trying not to take a stereotypical approach but a woman is more likely to choose a daughter just like a male is more likely to choose a son. The mother can simply deny getting this treatment if her husband won't let them pick a girl. Hence this can bring an imbalance to gender. (This is not stereotypical, it is simply based on our nature. Most males get along better with males whilst most females get along better with females)

[Russ]

^^
If you have this (or similar) procedure performed by any reputable agency, they'll require you to do counselling beforehand about why you're making your decisions, and you'd need to confront a "oh i want a girl because i'm female". At the end of the day, I'm not really concerned about gender imbalance resulting from this. It's never going to become mainstream enough for that to be a problem.