Choosing your baby's sex

[Guest Jason]

On the news the other day, they were discussing whether it was right or wrong to choose your baby's sex before it was born. Appearently, doctors nowadays can alter the sperm somehow and produce a boy or girl accordingly. If the parents want a boy, they can get a boy if done early enough. And same for a girl.

Now this raises several questions. Is this playing God? Is this fair to the unborn child? Is this fair to the middle class who can't afford this procedure (Yes, it is very costly!) Is this going against the so called 'Natural Selection' of Darwinism and the Evolutionary theory?

 

There are several other scenerio's that can guessed as well. For instance, if this was around a 100 years ago, could we have lost a Einstien, FDR, Reagan, Jordan, Babe Ruth, Hogan, Col. Sanders, and others because their parents wanted girls instead? Who knows how today may have been altered because of this 'choice'. At the same time maybe a Hitler, Mussulini, Stalin, Ryan Seacrest, or Bob Holly could have been sparred.

 

But this also raises the question, where does it stop? Pretty soon, parents will be able to go to hospital and take drugs or procedures that will give the sex of their choice as well as the hair color, hair style, eye color, metabolism maybe, and who knows what else. How far are willing to go with this 'pre choice' and custom made babies? To most parents, waiting to find out the sex is a great moment in their lifes. Parents should love their child regardless. Of course, there are the messed up adults who don't know how to raise kids and shouldn't be having kids in the first place who may abuse a certain child. But do think if they had the chioce of the sex that they would raise them differently?

 

I know I hit alot of questions there, but I wanted to get some thoughts out there for you all. What do you think of this 'choosing'?

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

No offense, but Hitler was bad enough as a guy. I wouldn't want a Hitler during her time of the month.

 

And in regards to your question, we choose when kill unborn masses of tissue in the womb, what's so much worse about deciding whether they have a penis or not? My only concern are the lawsuits that will shoot out if a couple doesn't get the gender they wanted...

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

Where would we be without Colonel Sanders 9 special herbs & spices?

 

Think of the children, dammit!

[2GOLD 0]

Changing the sex is a little goofy I think. Going for a kid is like gambling, you don't know what you are going to get so you shouldn't try to rig the table.

 

Sorry, but the one constant I know for a fact is if you try to fuck with nature...she'll ass rape you and leave you crying for mommy.

 

Sorry for the language but no other way to say it.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Where would we be without Colonel Sanders 9 special herbs & spices?

You have a problem with Col. Samantha -- They'd both have beards at that age anyway, so what's the big deal?...

[The Ill One 0]

I know for a fact is if you try to fuck with nature...she'll ass rape you and leave you crying for mommy.

 

Sorry for the language but no other way to say it.

"'F'd in the A"

 

Anyway, I don't see why not. It kind've appeals for the whole "frugile bastard" side.

[Special K 0]

If it's safe, who cares? It's probably just somehow sorting the sperm to see which have the X and which the Y. If that's how they do it without actually altering them, what's the harm? It's not like they're taking a female baby and forcing it to be male, or vice-versa. It's a natural sperm and egg.

If Hitler had been female, he would have been different. Likewise, if he had recieved a different male sperm, he would have been way different as well. You're never going to be able to prevent or promote evil in this manner. It's all a crapshoot, and all the suppositions otherwise are rather stupid.

[EricMM 0]

If this becomes affordable and legal, countries like China where male offspring are culturally more desireable this could cause an even more dramatic male to female ratio.

 

Of course I don't agree with this.

[BUTT 0]

Changing the sex is a little goofy I think. Going for a kid is like gambling, you don't know what you are going to get so you shouldn't try to rig the table.

 

Sorry, but the one constant I know for a fact is if you try to fuck with nature...she'll ass rape you and leave you crying for mommy.

 

Sorry for the language but no other way to say it.

I agree. This just doesn't seem like something that can be done safely without the risk of some serious genetic mutations happening.

[Guest Cerebus]

Forget China. Most people in the US would rather have male children if given a choice (not me though). It's just that we don't have a One Child policy.

[Guest Coffey]

You know, in this day and age, "playing God" with as many religions as there are, shouldn't even come up as a phrase. It only effects people that believe in God.

 

Do you think a buddist would think altering the sex of a child was "playing God?"

 

Just saying....

[Highland 0]

Most people would choose to have boys, mostly because our society still favours males, despite the broad steps taken in the last 100 years or so.

Predetermining gender would also upset the ratio of males to females in the populace, females would be much less common than they are now and given society's dim view on polygamistic relationships, the population of said society would quickly plummet.

[The Metal Maniac 0]

females would be much less common than they are now

 

I was under the impression that there were, in total, more females then males.

 

Reading that, it seems like you believe the opposite.

 

So, am I just an idiot?

 

Anyway, I don't think people should be choosing sexes of babies, for the same reasons everyone already gave.

[Highland 0]

females would be much less common than they are now

 

I was under the impression that there were, in total, more females then males.

 

Reading that, it seems like you believe the opposite.

 

So, am I just an idiot?

 

Anyway, I don't think people should be choosing sexes of babies, for the same reasons everyone already gave.

I realize the error I made: my bad.

 

I still believe that selective breeding would result in much lower numbers of females, thogh.

[Slayer 0]

Maybe people want boys because girls are a bitch to raise in comparison

 

As for me, I would use this because I want one of each (balance) and I don't feel like leaving that to chance

[Guest Failed Mascot]

As for me, I would use this because I want one of each (balance) and I don't feel like leaving that to chance

I remember when you cursed the thought of having kids.

 

I'd let nature decide personally.

[Highland 0]

As for me, I would use this because I want one of each (balance) and I don't feel like leaving that to chance

I remember when you cursed the thought of having kids.

 

I'd let nature decide personally.

He needs more sacrifices to his god.

[Spicy McHaggis 0]

Well, this is a great way to kill off Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (which only affects boys)... you can stop crazy fuckers like me from ever bothering you again.

 

I guess this option is better than when they tell you to seek "genetic counseling" & "family planning" which means, "your baby may die later in life, so please be compassionate and let us crack open his skull and suck out his brain."

 

I guess I need to lay off the caffeine.

[AndrewTS 0]

But this also raises the question, where does it stop? Pretty soon, parents will be able to go to hospital and take drugs or procedures that will give the sex of their choice as well as the hair color, hair style, eye color, metabolism maybe, and who knows what else. How far are willing to go with this 'pre choice' and custom made babies?

 

Slipperly slope.

 

Changing one chromosome and customing many, many genes is vastly different that it's crazy to compare them. Deciding the sex isn't all that complicated in theory. A man decides the actual sex of the child, assuming that the woman gives one X chromosome, and the male gives either an X or Y (assuming no rare genetic errors where one X is broken or one of them gives two), so it's all a matter of choosing whether the male gives an X or a Y.

 

Considering the stage we're at in comprehending the human genome, it's so far off it'd hardly worth debating. Although that would be fantastic if we could stop genetic disorders from even appearing.

 

In theory, if it were done widespread, it could much up the balance of the population, though, and that is cause for concern.

[Guest Danny Dubya v 2.0]

Speaking of balance, I could see this being quite useful if the balance of the gender populations, this procedure not being a factor in it at that moment, was too uneven. At that time, to-be parents could be strongly encouraged (in no way forced) to change the gender of their baby if they can afford it, to even the genders out with the help of the willing, and then cease encouraging it at the appropriate time. Isn't the male population decreasing in comparison to the female population nowadays?

 

There are several other scenerio's that can guessed as well. For instance, if this was around a 100 years ago, could we have lost a Einstien, FDR, Reagan, Jordan, Babe Ruth, Hogan, Col. Sanders, and others because their parents wanted girls instead?

 

Not a concern. Another one of the billions of humans on this Earth would've replaced them and we'd have different household names and different ideas, whether they'd be better or worse ones, you can't possibly know. This doesn't necessarily apply to any of the names you listed, but maybe someone from the past that was highly valued was standing in someone else's way that may have had a better impact, and they'd have a better chance without competition from them.

[Dr. Tom 0]

Predetermining gender would also upset the ratio of males to females in the populace, females would be much less common than they are now and given society's dim view on polygamistic relationships, the population of said society would quickly plummet.

That's my problem with it. Nature gives us a pretty equal ratio of females to males (I know there are more boxes than dicks, but it's not by a huge margin), and that's necessary to keep us going. If people can choose the gender of their child, that natural balance will be upset. Too many baby boys or girls could throw things off and cause problems down the line. "Playing god" really isn't something I care about, but I do believe that we don't have to do something just because we can.

[Slayer 0]

Wise man say:

 

"When you have a boy, you have one dick to worry about.

When you have a girl, you have hundreds of dicks to worry about."

[Vyce 0]

This concept alone horrifies me. I'm absolutely against it.

 

It's shit like this which makes me side very much AGAINST the field of genetics.

[Highland 0]

It's stories like this that get the attention and turn people against genetics; that and the fear of a "master race" mentality, though if this science leads to the elimination of genetic diseases and the like, then I'm all for it.