should parents be able to predetermine gender?

[gaither]

Newsweek did an excellent article on this issue the other week. Apparently there is a new technology available called microsorting that gives parents a higher probability (as compared to previous methods) of successfully predetermining the gender of their baby. The microsorting procedure identifies and separates male and female sperm by the presence or absence of X and Y chromosomes. The sex-sorted sperm are then used for artificial insemination. (For more information on how this technique is done, see =http://www.inciid.org/newsletter/june/pg3.html)

I was surprised (pleasantly) the number of objections people had to the use of this technology in this week's issue of Newsweek, letters to the editor. I know that in this country we are not predisposed to the belief that females are less desirable offspring, compared to a country like India where female infanticide is common.
However, I'm curious how many of you would have chosen to preselect the gender of your child (or children) if you could have afforded to take advantage of this latest technology? And do you feel that your family would be less balanced if you did not have at least one boy>
 

[spursfan101]

You mean, just doing it while your standing up dosen't gurantee you a boy??  DARN IT!!!  

[spursfan101]

In all honesty, when my wife got pregant last year, BOTH OF US wanted another girl. Girl's are wonderful, I was worried that I would be alot harder on my son than I would be to my daughter.  So far, that hasn't been the case.

"QUIT CRYING, LITTLE BOYS DON'T CRY! "

 But dear, he's only 2 weeks old.  

"HAVE TO TEACH HIM HOW TO BE REAL MAN BABE..."

 

[WayOutWest]

I have 4 kids, they arrived girl, boy, girl, boy (I'm good like that, my accuracy in that regard is unquestionable).  I would take advantage of that tech if I had 3 girls or 3 boys and was down to my last shot.  As far as trying to select the gender of my first bord, that wouldn't even cross my mind.  If I was only allowed to have one child I would leave the gender up to chance.

It's just not for me but I wouldn't fault or complain about anyone selecting to go that route.

[WayOutWest]

In all honesty, when my wife got pregant last year, BOTH OF US wanted another girl. Girl's are wonderful, I was worried that I would be alot harder on my son than I would be to my daughter.  So far, that hasn't been the case.

"QUIT CRYING, LITTLE BOYS DON'T CRY! "

 But dear, he's only 2 weeks old.  

"HAVE TO TEACH HIM HOW TO BE REAL MAN BABE..."

FYI,

Boys are the weaker sex mentally until they get older.  Boys are more dependant on their parents, especially on mom.  I'm not propagating a mothers myth, I've seen and read studies about it.  The most telling is just how much attention boys really need DIRECTLY from their mom.  Part of the study I saw on Discovery channel involved an ignore test.  Mom and kid would sit in front of each other and play or read, then mom would turn her back and just sit there.  Close to 90% of the boys started crying for mommy after only a minute or two.  Less than 15% of the girls cried, the rest just kept on playing by themselves.

I'm not as tough on my boys because my oldest is just naturally well behaved and my yougnest is a momma's boy, but when daddy is in charge those guys are very obediant.  The girls act the same way regardless of wether mommy or daddy are in charge.  My oldest girl is a very spoiled brat and acts alot like me, very argumentative but very logical.  My youngest girl is just evil.  She's is one of the toughest most manipulative females I know and she's only 5.  Allah help me!

[jemagee]

Hey, look, interesting archive stuff

While you may not be able to predetermine the gender, there are already ways to 'slant' the odds of which gender your child is.  My mom is an OB/GYN and shares a bit too much...

[WayOutWest]

Hey, look, interesting archive stuff

While you may not be able to predetermine the gender, there are already ways to 'slant' the odds of which gender your child is.  My mom is an OB/GYN and shares a bit too much...

spurs101 already adressed that issue.  I think there is also the "who's on top" method.

[westkoast]

I don't know....

That kind of falls under the 'playing god' area for me. 

[WayOutWest]

I don't know....

That kind of falls under the 'playing god' area for me. 

IMO by that line of thinking, so do antibiotics.  Add to the list any and ALL forms of birth control.  It's pretty black and white IMO in regards to Christians and procreation, mastrubation is also a no-no (including Golden Girls re-run hand parties).  Not sure about the other religions. 

[jemagee]

Well if you wanna be literal about it, so does a caesarian wsection and life support machines, or chemo therapy, or vaccinations, or treatment with anti biotics...medicine is 'playing god' when you get right down to it because you are interfering with things that by definition are 'naturally' happening.

What I'm referring to is basically chemistry/biology and knowledge of the processes of fertilization and the differences between an 'x-sperm' and a 'y-sperm'.

[westkoast]

I don't know....

That kind of falls under the 'playing god' area for me. 

IMO by that line of thinking, so do antibiotics.  Add to the list any and ALL forms of birth control.  It's pretty black and white IMO in regards to Christians and procreation, mastrubation is also a no-no (including Golden Girls re-run hand parties).  Not sure about the other religions. 

Not really IMO.  There is a difference between taking medication to treat an illness and something like pre-determining the gender of a child.  The later is part of creating life.  The other is not.

[jemagee]

Not really IMO.  There is a difference between taking medication to treat an illness and something like pre-determining the gender of a child.  The later is part of creating life.  The other is not.

If god really exists, and god cared, wouldnt' god intervene, wouldn't he have made the chemical make up of x sperm and y sperm EXACTLY the same so it wouldn't be possible in the first place.

Supposedly god gave humanity free will, to make their own decisions and decide their own way.

Then again, I was raised as a jew, blind devotion and absolute obedience aren't really big with us, questioning almost everything god says, that's kind of what we were raised to do.

Most people in science dismiss the 'playing god' idea because in the end, well, they don't believe that god has much to do with it what with the concepts of evolution.

I have no issue with trying to slant the odds...I have issues with terminating a pregnancy based on gender, or a national that only allows one child and therefore people kill daughters cause they want sons, but see that's not playing god, that's just humans being dumb.

If for some reason at conception the amnio had shown two XX chromosomes it wouldn't have made a difference to my mother, but she wanted a son, and she used her knowledge to do something that anyone could really do with a little bit of research, and there's no real proof that it worked anyway...just because i was a boy doesn't mean what she did work, it's close to a 50/50 shot depending on the sperm ejaculate makeup

[Derek Bodner]

:/

I thought gaither had returned for a moment.

[WayOutWest]

I don't know....

That kind of falls under the 'playing god' area for me. 

IMO by that line of thinking, so do antibiotics.  Add to the list any and ALL forms of birth control.  It's pretty black and white IMO in regards to Christians and procreation, mastrubation is also a no-no (including Golden Girls re-run hand parties).  Not sure about the other religions. 

Not really IMO.  There is a difference between taking medication to treat an illness and something like pre-determining the gender of a child.  The later is part of creating life.  The other is not.

What about birth control?  That is playing God. 

God knows when to pull the plug so it's not for man to decide when man is playing God (i.e. Tower of Babel). 

[WayOutWest]

Then again, I was raised as a jew,

Son of a b.....ANOTHER infidel!?!  Mormons, Jews...whats next NAMBLA?  WTF Dabods!  We were promised a "higher standard" around here!