Artificial Sex Selection in Today’s Fertility Clinics
Thesis Statement:
The method of sorting cryopreserved sperm for the purpose of separating the X and Y chromosomes has been an ongoing process for many years. However, recently this method has become a modern preconception technique in which numerous applications for safe and effective selection procedures now exist in clinical practices. I have chosen to explore how currently these uses have broadened to areas where many of us might see as a moral or ethical issue. These uses might even be linked to a larger scheme of pre-embryonic chromosome attenuation such as the Human Genome Project.
General History of the Sperm Sorting Technique
As we approach the new Millennium, science continues to make greater advancements in the areas of fertility and genetics. Many heated discussions have taken place in this country over the course of the past decade regarding the topic of artificial sex selection. These scientific advancements have grown out of the public’s desire to have more control over creation. It is no longer acceptable to let nature decide crucial factors. Many parents now desire a way to manipulate genetic factors so that they can choose the sex of their unborn child, or possibly even other traits.
In the early 1980’s, the United States Department of Agriculture first introduced sex selection of farm animals. Methods claiming to achieve sex selection have existed for many years. Numerous applications for safe and effective selection procedures exist in current clinical practices, as sex-linked conditions could be theoretically eliminated by use of appropriate sperm for fertilization or insemination. Recently, the sperm-sorting techniques developed by the ...
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(13) "Medicine and the New Genetics" www.onrl.gov/hgmis/resource/medicine.html. Nov. 15, 1999.
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"Stories of Captiv Killer Whales." A Whale of a Business. PBS, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.
Imagine yourself living in a bathtub for 25 years and you could do absolutely nothing about it. Wild orcas, better known as killer whales have been captured to entertain audiences world wide at aquariums. The most popular location being Sea World. Growing up in Miami, I could not control my excitement when it came time to go visit Lolita the killer whale at the Miami Seaquarium. To be able to see such an amazing creature right in front of me was mind blowing. How amazing is it that you can be face or face with an animal of that size? Well, I wish I'd known then what I know now. In the following paragraphs, I will start off with the difference between the life of a wild orca in the wild versus their life in captivity and I will end with reasons as to why families should not participate and give their time and money to these companies who commit such inhumane acts. I hope that towards the end of this essay, you will change your view on wild orcas and not look at them as just an animal that is used for entertainment purposes.
Dena Davis in the 5th chapter of “Genetic Dilemmas: Reproductive Technology, Parental Choices, and Children’s Futures” explores the global attitudes, policies, and morality towards determination of sex. She begins with presenting empirical evidence of some preferences held in countries such as India or China where there is a clear desire for male children. This inclination is so deeply held that mothers can be socially and physically harmed when, by pure biological chance, they fail to produce a male child. Davis and others allow sex selection in these cases, purely in the interest of harm reduction of mothers and their daughters born into such a situation. This example is contrasted with so-called “western” societies, where the preference
Kirby, David. Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2012. Print.
Imagine seeing a majestic killer whale floating at the bottom of its pool—depressed. Tapping on the glass does not stir this gigantic friendly beast. Every once in a while she will make her whistling and calling noises. This killer whale, named Katina, and her infant killer whale was taken away from her (Kirby 43). Katina was separated from her new calf because the calf was acting out during shows. Kalina’s family pod was broken, leaving Katina alone and depressed in her pool. Katina would call out to her Kalina, but nothing would subdue her sadness (112). Killer whales should not be kept in captivity because captivity not only leads to aggressive behavior and emotional anguish of the whales, but also injuries, and furthermore deaths of the trainers.
"Pro and Con Captivity for Orcas in Sea World." Teen Ink. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2014. .
... this still happens because it is what the audience wants to see and what they pay for. Holding whales in captivity does not benefit them it has proven many things such as the whales are aggressive towards there trainer although in the wild they have not hurt a single person intentionally. It has also proven they live shorter lives. Not just shorter lives but thirty to forty years shorter life expectancies in captivity. There living condition small not large enough for them to receive there exercise and hunt for their food like they would in the wild. These are just some of the many ways whales are mistreated and they don’t deserve any of it. The way to stop this is simple. Don’t visit theme parks where Orcas are forced to do tricks they do not want to do. Support organization that are there to actually treat and release the whales not hold and profit off of them.
Kirby, David. Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2012. Print.
In this paper I'm focusing mainly on Renaissance art work, since that was the assignment, but I feel it's important to also mention the other important parts of the Renaissance, architecture, science, politics and religion.
An orca, more commonly known as a killer whale, is currently one of the largest marine animals held in captivity. Countless arguments are being made, supporting and opposing captivity of orcas to be exploited as circus animals in theme parks around the world. Throughout recent history, Sea World trainers have been injured and killed by the orcas and the whales, and the whales themselves have been observed as severely depressed. If Sea World releases the whales, they would undergo an immense economic downfall and the whales would be too weak to survive in the wild if they were freed. Since the first Sea World park opened in San Diego, California in 1964, common questions have arose concerning the well-being of orcas in captivity, the dangers of humans training them, the physical capability of whales theoretically being released, and the psychological differences between whales living in the wild versus whales living in Sea World's confinement.
In the gender selection article, a fertility clinic is offering the chance to pick the gender of your baby. People from countries where gender selection is illegal, come to the United States in order to hve the chance to have a boy. Using PGD, a test that is used to detect gentic abnormalities, Steinburg can select a babys gender with 99.9 percent accuracy. Some people think gender selection is unethical because gender is not a disease. Some even say that gender selection is sexism and that it is just making designer babies. They are taking a natural process and are turning it into a design your own baby buisness. I think that it should be left natural because that is how it has always been. Also as a result, one gender
According to the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), the topic of gender selection, as an efficient way to choose the sex of babies anterior to the conception, is an ethically dangerous
Prenatal genetic screening in particular is a polarizing topic of discussion, more specifically, preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). PGD is one of the two techniques commonly used to genetically screen embryos in vitro; it is usually done at the eight-cell stage of division. PGD is most often performed when there is the risk that one or both parents carry disease-causing mutations. It is extensively used by high-risk individuals trying to conceive babes who will be free of particular mutations. PGD can test for over 50 genetic conditions and even allows for sex selection if there are underlying gender-associated medical conditions. When the results are satisfactory, the selected embryo is implanted into the mother’s uterus. While a controversial technique, preimplantation genetic diagnosis is one example of some of the good genetic testing can do, more benefits will be furthe...
Imagine a future where people order babies like they order a custom car. They could go online and customize their child to their heart’s satisfaction. This future started in 1968 when Robert Edwards and Richard Gardner successfully identified the sex of a pre-embryo rabbit cell. Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) is a test that allows geneticists to see a full living person while others only see a microscopic organism consisting of a few dozen cells. With that knowledge, geneticists can eradicate genetic diseases, allow parents to choose a specific egg out of a dozen, or replace genes with traits that the parents prefer. With this great power there is great possibility for good. But more likely, there is huge chance that this kind of ability will be misused. Funding should not be allocated for research of PGD and similar genetic procedures because it could cause overpopulation, a wealth gap, and a societal disparity.
There are different ways and reasons why people wish to change the genes in their cells; the two categories split into “somatic and germline genetic engineering”. When a scientist uses “somatic genetic engineering” -the sex cells-- eggs and sperms are not affected; a specific gene code is changed and the genes do not pass down to the next generation. The other genetic engineering used is “germline” which, in contrast to somatic engineering, affects the eggs and sperms. When germline genetic engineering is used, the genes will be passed down to the next generation, affecting the physical and genetic traits. The debate rises and people question people’s free will. Bioethics is the formal and recognized term that describes the advantages and disadvantages that genetic enginee...