Should parents be able to select the sex of their children using genetic testing?
24% (282 votes)
Yes
61% (725 votes)
No
15% (182 votes)
Maybe
Total votes: 1189
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Who r u trying 2 b, God? U losers!
People should be able to pre-determine their childs sex because it will be THEIR child. Like any other property it belongs to them..
A person isn't property!
what the childs sex is should not matter. the parents should accept the baby boy or girl. it is gods plan.
Power to the sister!
NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i think parents should decide what sex their children are if they are going to give birth to them peace out braaap
the parents should be able to do whatever they want its their child and their life if you dont need to like it becuz its not your life. If you dont believe in what the parents are doing then more power to you for having your own opinion but leave people alone just stay out of other peoples buisiness and everyone will be happy what other people do is no ones buisness but their own. GET OVER IT!!!
that's what the black market is for.
What the heck is the black market... anyway, I think that you can if you wanted to, but if not the choice is yours.
The "black market" is where people trade in things that aren't legal to buy or sell.
If all parents were given a choice, would there be a large increase in the population of one sex?
yes there would be
Anyone who says that there would be an imense increase in one sex of the population is wrong. Different people have different ideas and different wants and desires. Some people want a girl, some people want a boy. To say that there would be a drastic increase in one sex could be considered either a feminist or male chauvanistic point of view, depending on who is saying this at this time. As I have stated in my other posts if more people realized God is in control they would not worry about the trivialities of would one sex begin to overpopulate the other.
yes, but was chooseing the gender of your child gods plan as well? I don't think so
I strongly agree with you.
i totally agree
i totally agree god made it how it was meant to be and it should stay that way!
well i think u should be aloud a choice when u have 3 or more of the same sex and really crave for the other sex i dont c any problem
it was also in god's plan to make us smart enough to learn how to do this stuff...
The children do not belong to the parents, they are their own person!
They are not property!
It is very rude and dissrespectful to call them property and declare that they have no RIGHTS!
Horse Crazy 101
u cant even try to b God!i think whho ever has done this ,this is the biggest sin i ever seen.
i dont think you should get to choose what the sex of your baby is
HUMANS ARE NOT PROPERTY AND IF YOU CAN'T DEAL WITH THE SEX OF YOUR CHILD YOU SHOULDN'T BE HAVING KIDS IN THE FIRST PLACE. IT'S NOT YOUR CHOICE, JUST LIKE IT IS NOT YOUR CHOICE TO TAKE ANOTHER'S LIFE.
thats right! if parents cant accept for what their child is, they are nothing more than irresponsible wannabees!
parents should obviously accept there child for who they are because they are part of the parent! the parents gave birth to them so to not accept your child is basically not accepting yourself. God created you for who you are!!!
children are not property to be choosen, returned, or given back
OMG ARE YOU SERIOUS ITS NOT LIKE YOUR CHANGING A BABY THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN CHOSEN AS A GIRL OR BOY YOUR JUST CHOOSING WHAT TO GET PREGNANT WITH YOUR NOT HAVING THE BABY THEN DECIDING IT SHOULD BE A BOY OR A GIRL THEY CHOOSE THE SEX BEFORE THEY FERTILIZE THE FRICKEN EGG WITH THE SPERM IF I WANT A GIRL IM GETTING A GIRL IVE ALREADY HAD 6 BOYS AND IF I WANT TO GO TO THE DOCTORS AND MAKE SURE THE SPERM THAT FERTILIZES MY EGG IS A GIRL ONE ITS MY CHOICE IM NOT TAKING ANYTHING AWAY FROM ANY LITTLE BOY IM SIMPLY MAKING IT EASIER FOR THE GIRL SPERM WHICH MAY NOT BEEN ABLE TO SURVIVE IN THE FIRST PLACE
Hmmm... I think you're talking about a technique known as "sperm sorting," which improves the chances of conceiving a child of the desired sex, but doesn't guarantee it.
In this thread, people are debating about a technique known as preimplantation genetic diagnosis, in which sperm and eggs are mixed in a lab to create embryos. A single cell is removed from each embryo, and analyzed to look for genetic diseases. Sex of the embryos is evident as well, and doctors can choose to try to implant only embryos of the desired sex. With PDG, while conception isn't guaranteed (sometimes embryos don't implant in the uterus), the sex of any resulting children is.
i think parents shouldn't choose the sex of thier child because i believe that God made the world and he should choose the sex of your child.
a child is not a persons property that people have rights if you think this way why dont u find a way to go a hundred or so years when people were slaves and owned u would fit right in, u should thank God that you can have kids SOME PEOPLE CANT!
What gives you the right to decide? If god intended us all to be the same sex the human race would be extinct!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow, I can't believe you actually said that a person is property. Last time checked, i'm my own person, and although parents are a big part of my life, they can't choose my values and ideas.
How can it be their property. God made all of us unique for a reason, and you should be thankful for who they are!!
u can't "pre decide".....
u can't make what gender u want your child 2 b. and you can't compare children 2 property. ur child is what they r and u have 2 except them 4 it. not change or "pre-determine" their gender.
I don't know if someone already said this, but if parents are given the choice to choose the sex of their child, what will stop them from choosing other traits too. Like high, hair color, IQ, etc. Basically, turning a child into a thing where it can be modified and change. I can already imagine the future, babies’ designs on store shelves where parents walk around the aisles choosing the perfect baby.
THEIR child....? Since when are people property???? Having a child isn't like going to a drive thru window...you can't pick and choose what you want when it comes to a person....I hope you never have kids or a wife for that matter...they would lose all self identity and become YOUR PROPERTY!!!!
A child is not property. If it is, through your opinion sundog, then treat it like your property. if you have a playstation or console you dont attend to it 24-7 so that means you just leave your child like u do to your PROPERTY.
Sun Dog what if people decided that they all wanted to have the same sex of children and only a number of others and all humans on erth defered?(dissapered)
This is an interesting comment. Who do you think you are? To say that a child is the "property" of the parents makes that child something that could be easily disgarded if deemed not worthy of their love or protection any longer. I agree that it would be cool for people to decide if they wanted a boy or a girl, but come on, YOU HAVE GONE TOO FAR!!! Children are a life, Created By God. They are not a property that should even be considered as some useable good that could be thrown away after it has been used.
god god god-we all have a choice-nomatter if that choice may be what others may or may not agree with!-some are wrong, and some are good.but it's still ours. for the people that believe in fairy tales or other crap that makes you feel "not alone 'well.....just deal with it-or dont-ur choice remember!?we have the technology and were free to use it... or not-i dont see it as a "property "issue- i see it as my own freakin decision issue
Parents should not be allowed to determine the sex of their child because what if something went wrong and it didn't work. The kid would feel like they don't matter
You should not be able to pre-determine the sex of your child. It has always been a natural thing and is going against the will of God. Your parents didn't do that to you, and in the process of doing that, you could ruin a child that could have grown up to be an amazing scientist or something that will help our chances of survival in our universe.
SO IF CHILDREN ARE PROPERTY OF THEIR PARENTS...DO YOU WANT YOUR PARENTS CONTROLING EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR LIFE?
no one shud be able to becus they arent tha creator if they want to pick the sex of their child they shud get a dog!
I'm with you!
count me in
Well it seems that many people disagree with choosing the gender of a child because we are messing with "gods" creation.
WE CANT BRING GOD INTO THIS
WE HAVE NO IDEA IF THERE IS A GOD AND IF THERE IS HOW CAN WE SAY THAT GOD THINKS THAT IT IS WRONG TO CHOOSE THE GENDER OF A CHILD.
This isnt a debate about god, so dont bring any diety in it.
if there is no god, then how did the universe come to be? Sure the big bang but what was there before that, and before that? You cant explain it can you? well there you go. nothing can just be there, it has to be made, like everything else.
i agree completely. we shouldn't be messing with things that god designed by his own hands. he knows what's going to happen, and we shouldn't mess with that!!!
y would u want to ruin the suprise...... and if it really matters that mutch to u what your kids look like u have issues.
What about parents who are trying to avoid having a child with a potentially fatal sex-linked disease? Is it different then? Do they still have "issues?" And what if they're trying to avoid a sex-linked disease that ISN'T fatal, but causes significant mental or physical disabilities? Is that a good reason to actively determine the sex of a child?
It may seem right but God may plan for them to be with Jesus sooner than the rest of us.
Listen, liza, Just because your choosing the sex of a child doesnt mean they still wont get the disease, its coming from the womb of their mother, theyll still probably get the disease
Bra, you all mixed up.
Sex-linked dizeases ain't comin frum yo mutha's wizizomb. Theys in yo gizenes!
Gotta agree with the anonymous poster right above me: a sex-linked disease is not the same as a sexually-transmitted disease. A sex-linked disease is a genetic disease carried on a particular chromosome, and it affects children of one sex, but not the other. (Of course, "unaffected" children can be carriers, depending on the complicated genetics involved.) You don't get "exposed" to a sex-linked disease; from the moment that sperm and egg meet, you either have it or you don't.
Go to the Buzz Blog entry "Ethics and genetic testing."
After reading it, do you still think that parents who want to preselect the sex of their child are "losers"? (It's a legitimate opinion; I just want to provide more context for the poll question.)
everything comes out naturally; you shouldn't decide on the gender of your baby. it's like deciding who you want to have as a boss. it's just lame and lamer. ick.
Ok,I can see the appeal if you already have 4 or 5 boys and you really want a girl, but where do we draw the line?
The Ethics Committee of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has published their official position on the use of PGD to achieve "family balancing"--and they're not in favor of it.
This opinion is consistent with those of other expert groups, including the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development and Britain's Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority Code of Practice.
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine also opposes the use of PGD for non-medical purposes, although they feel that pre-fertilization techniques such as sperm sorting--if proven safe and effective--would be ethically acceptable.
The ACOG statement makes no mention of pre-fertilization techniques, but it does say:
What do you think? In non-medical situations, is it ethical to use pre-fertilization techniques to conceive a child of a particular sex?
I do not think parents should care if there children are a girl or boy. They are the same person on the inside.
try talking to someone about the promble
totally agree!!!
we shouldnt have to chose how we want our children to look like
we should just except how thet turned out to be and live with it
its so not right
I totally disagree
there is more to a child than whether they are a boy or a girl.
Ablolutly not!!!!!!!
I would love for my children to be a surprise!!!!
Anonymous
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA YOU DONT GET TO PICK THAT WOULD BE WRONG!
I ttly agree w/ u, dude!!!!!!
The right to choose should not be taken away, even though I would never consider this myself. It falls along the same principle that some religions don't believe that blood transfusions are not moral. However, no one would deny the right to have a blood transfusion to anyone in need of it. I realize this is a life and death example but the fact that the right to do things considered immoral to one religion should not be taken to encompass the entire society.
Absolutely i agree on your statement. soverignty should always remain in the hands of WE THE PEOPLE...People should not fear their governments...Governments should fear WE THE People...that's how America Came into being!
I don't see George Bush Fearing the people of America?
Forget about religious views. this is a matter of morality. This option is not nessisary at all. It is an option that is given to people because of science. What benifits does one have by choosing the sex of a child? regardless of how many boys or girls one already has there is no reason to had the right to choose.
In some cases, there ARE benefits to choosing the sex of a child. Not for "family balancing" or anything like that, but to eliminate the risk of fatal or severely debilitating sex-linked diseases. I think it's OK to use PGD in that case to conceive only children of the non-affected sex until science figures out a way to test for the disease itself at the same early stage of embryonic development.
To Liza,
I dont beleive that people should choose because of sex-linked diseases
what if they have the chromosomes that for either a male or female child would be born with a sex-linked diseases but they dont know if the child would have it or also just carry the chromosome you dont know until the child is in the second term or born and tested
i dont really think it matters unless the world gets an imbalance between the sexes
i agree with this person. we are not god and we shouldm't do this because it is not natural! as i always said, let nature take it's course!
i feel that it should happen naturally
Today i saw body worlds and it is wayy overated and out of porportion. Several of the exhibits were a little overdone and torn apart. However in conclusion it is worth going to for the learning experience.
people shouldnt be able to because then there might be a shortage
i agree withh u we shoulnt do anything like that bcz God can do anything he wants he made us and we should enjoy our life not ruin it and think we can be better than God.
thx samirr a 13 year old boy lol :)
right on dog
Having the ability to choose doesn't mean that parents will. It's not some fatastic scientific development that could lead to the destruction of family. Just like choosing when to have a child, the most likely application for this level of technology would simply enable parents to have one boy when they already have a girl. One needs to look at what good could come from it, versus what bad could result. What on earth could be so bad about this?
they should let God chose
I think that you have what your meant to have andd it should stay that way we shouldn't alter human genetics and human nature for our own pleasure.
Anyone here heard of Haemophilia?
it mostly affects males. 20 times more than females
If we chose the gender of the child we would be able cut the rates of Haemophilia by 2000%.
Other Hereditry disease will be eliminated
And in addition to what the last person said, if we dont want 2 play the role of god, why take medicines? If god wants us to die, according to some people we should.
Taking medicine may disturb what god wants. So if u believe we should change the gender because god is a factor, then dont take any medicines
So..do you actually only want females to be alive in this world just because Hereditry disease is more common among the males? Wouldn't this affect our whole cycle of life? - Jus wanna say that if you had a small flu...it doesn't mean you going to die..you take medicine to heal tt stupid flu..and besides whatever God wants us to do, no one will stop him
I don't think that the poster you're responding to was suggesting that all parents choose only girls. The point was that IF you're at risk for passing on a fatal or debilitating genetic disease, and you know it's sex linked, allowing parents to choose the unaffected sex might alleviate a lot of suffering.
I'm not quite following your second argument, though. I *think* that the post says that, if you believe that taking action against medical misfortune--such as a hereditary disease--is going against God's will, isn't taking medicine the same? And you say, no, it isn't, and besides we can't stop ourselves from doing what God wants us to do. So...doesn't it follow then that choosing a baby's sex might be part of the master plan?
If you changed 2000% of males into females we soon wouldn't have enough males to propogate the species. God in His infinite wisdom knows just how many males and how many females are needed--we do not. There are two things of which I am certain--There is a God; and you are not Him!
First of all, it's mathematically impossible to reduce something by 2000%. The most you can reduce something is 100%, at which point is is eliminated.
As for God and medicine, it is possible to envision illness as an obstacle or challenge God wants us to overcome. It is difficult to envision maleness or femaleness as such an obstacle.
i agree with you, it is for god to decide who lives and the sex of someone.also the majority of women want boys so would the whole world be run by men? i cant bear to think.
I see both sides of the issue, but please, don't drag your religion into this.
I say no to it, though.
I agree religion should be kept out but i do admit, there are not males in some countries.
I say that god made a girl for a reason and a boy for a reason so a parent should'nt be able to choose that is like sayin that you don't want your child to have a birth effect or for it to have green eyes or brown just think of the couples that would love to have chilren but can't thats like throwing it in their face sayen we have a choose of what our baby is!
I agree! Why would you want to determine the gender of your child in advance? That's perverse!
Disrregarding the fact that your reply looks like something a brain-dead monkey would write, I must say that I agree. Though maybe not from the stance that the parents are playing "God", as it is genetics, not God, that decided a babies outcome, I do think that somethings are best left alone. Babies are not computers. If you screw up making a baby, you can't return it to BestBuy and demand a refund. Just the same, you can't customize a baby, as then it would not be an offspring of the parents, but simply a creation from a lab. That itself brings in a realm of legal questions, enough so that I don't have time to type.
there is no god having children should just be one big surprise.
YES
AS A MUM OF 5 BOYS ,I THINK YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO CHOOSE THE SEX OF YOU CHILD,WHAT IS WRONG WITH BEING ABLE TO CHOOSE?
i think that people should be able to chose if they want a girl or a boy!
some times there are things that happen in life and you just have to suck it up and deal with it. we dont have control over everything that happens in our lives and the probelm with humans is that we think that we do. we cannot control what gender we are just as we cannot control the sun. sometimes you have to roll with the motion and if you are a girl and really dont want to be...tough luck. deal with it. j
well i don't know what the heck you are thinking but i don't like it!! let the gosh dang children deceide!!! jeeze!!! and just because you don't like what their opinion is you don't have to freak out and call them losers!!! ok, bye!!!
that is a very good piont cause if everybody got to pick what they wanted to be they would pick a girl cause girls rock!! then they would be over populated and then they would all be fighting over one guy and it would be a mess so just don' t do that ok? ok
peace out
alliecat
if you want a boy u should have one
i dont think that this is right we will all die
Why would that happen?
Lets try to take god out of the equation, does anyone have any thoughts why a parent should not be able to choose the sex. And for those who insist on using god as a reason is he not the one the gave us the ability to perform such an act. Consider parents like myself who have three boys and like to experience a baby girl in there lives and what she brings to the family. since we all know that the two are very different lifestyles and experiences
what people think is that you should be able to have a choice just like the male butterfly that can change gender maybe we should be able to choose our gender as well. quote from gil griaiom csi
I agree u guys are freaks!!!!! I mean I don't really care @ all. It wuz God's Choice.
HEK NO!!! what is this world comming toooo!!! no no no!
seriously the sex of your children is the BIGGEST surprise of anyones lives.. i think it would ruin EVERYTHING and life wouldnt have any surprises left....... i would be VERY angry if i were preggers and the doc asked if i wanted to make it a boy or a girl.... VERY PISSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thats messed up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i agree with you
everyone needs varity
ok these are some weird questions but whatevr you all think about asking kids these questions cause like halfof them are like TINY!!!! okwell whatever
I have no idea at all!!!
if parrents cold decied you might be the same or of the opposit gender.
Just because we have this newly improved technology, it doesnt not mean that it should be used. Life is/and should be filled with little and big surprises. I we had the choice of everthing, how shallow and empty would our lives be?
You are totally right. Anonoymous, our lives would be shallow and empty with out surpises.
I think people should just be happy with what they get. If your that picky dont have a child!!!!What are going to if they spill on you lovely wardrobe???
I am still of the mind that genetic modification can be used for protective measures; such as if the parents carry a genetic disease that only affects one gender. Beyond that, it seems to easily lead to a slippery slope, and I think that this technology can be put to much better use than to make designer children, but I am still undecided about the involvement of laws in dictating these decisions. Genetic gender selection is better than infanticide of unwanted children, but is not a solution. Thankfully I think we have some time yet to fully explore and discuss legal, social, and ethical ramification before the technology is commonplace enough to need such laws.
I am just a bit concerned that it might affect the babie's health. Just an opinion.
yup
That is a good point Bubbles.
I think its up to the parents to pick thier child's gender because it could benifit the parents' life. For example, they might want a boy to help out on the farm. The only problem I see with this is that there whill be too many boys runnin around America.
I don't think it is necessarily MORALLY wrong. I just think it would be too boring to have everything predetermined about your kid. Why ruin the surprise?
Nature made things the way they are, just let it be.
that'd be cool.
That would be hard because we live in a society that is set on destroying it. Our best choice now would be to find a balance where nature and humans coexist. As Mr. Smith said in the matrix, "humans are more like viruses than mammals." I guess the earth would have to live with the virus known as humanity.
no it wouldn't
Naturals all the way
i dont want to be a girl
Are you serious? Ahhhhh
You really dont want to be a girl do want to be a boy or do you want to be an it!!! i for one like being a girl its fun!
I think they should be able to because the parents are always like "OH I always wanted a girl/boy!" So I think that if they choose they wouldn't hurt their kids feelings if they have any.
Hmmm...
Well, in many countries there is a definite cultural preference for boys over girls. In China, where couples are only allowed to have one child, some people abort pregnancies not because they're unwanted or because of medical problems, but because they find out that the baby is a girl. Right now, 120 boys are born for every 100 girls, and the ratio is even higher in some rural areas. (Worldwide, the ratio is 106 boys to every 100 girls.) Selection against girls is also happening in India. So right now it's not so great to be a female fetus, and within a generation, it won't be so great to be male if you're searching for a spouse.
Here in America, couples often say that they want two children, a girl and a boy. But they also say that they'd prefer the FIRST child be the boy. What if ultrasound or genetic analysis reveals that the first child is a girl? Or what if a couple already has a child of one sex, and the ultrasound or genetic analysis reveals that the second pregnancy is of the same sex? What if we were to become a nation of big brothers and little sisters? Would that have an effect on the way men and women relate to each other? Or the personalities, coping mechanisms, educations, and skill sets of men and women? (Birth order studies would seem to say "yes"...)
You're right that many parents say things like, "I always wanted a little girl." But what if the little girl you dreamed about turns out nothing like the child you imagined? What if she's very bookish, or a natural athlete, or hates pink and cuts all her hair off? What if the little boy you've always wanted doesn't want to throw around a baseball in the backyard with dad, or writes poetry, or grows his hair long and wears black nail polish? My point is that even when you think you're picking the child you want, you still aren't necessarily getting what you think you're getting.
But what if a couple already has a child with a sex-linked disease? Or knows that the birth of such a child is a possibility? Should they be allowed to choose the opposite sex? What if the couple is doing preimplantation genetic diagnosis not ONLY to screen out embryos of one sex, but also to look for embryos that might be able to provide stem cells or tissues that could cure an elder sibling?
This BBC site has much more about these issues.
Until 2004, couples in the UK could use PGD to screen embryos in order to prevent the birth of a child with a serious genetic disorder, but NOT to screen embryos in order to cause the birth of a child who is a tissue match for an older sibling.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which oversees these cases in the UK, felt it was unethical to create one human being for the primary purpose of helping another.
The rule has since been relaxed, and couples are now able to screen embryos in both scenarios.
What do you think about so-called "savior siblings"? Should parents be able to create subsequent children that benefit their older brothers and sisters? (Read a few other folks' opinions, if you like.)
A new paper published in the Procedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that, as gender imbalances grow when parents preferentially select boys over girls, we'll see rising levels of anti-social and violent behavior.
The Reuters news report says,
Wait a minute... are you saying that boys who like baseball don't write poetry? Or boys who write poetry don't like baseball? ;-)
Not at all.
I'm saying that people who actively prefer a child of one sex over a child of another are likely to be harboring a lot of sex stereotypes, or to have a very clear picture of what they want that child to be like. And children are confounding. They fall into stereotypes when you don't want them to, and avoid them when you're hoping to take advantage of said stereotypes. If you do too much imagining and planning, you're likely to miss all the crazy and awesome things that they do that