Sperm Sorting
Humans have tried for some time to determine the gender of their child while it is still in the womb. Craving sweets or a slower heart rate means you’ll be having a baby girl. Eating a lot of salty foods, having an especially active baby or carrying your baby low means it’s time to start painting the baby’s room blue1. Advances in science have moved us beyond these old wives’ tales and allowed us to exactly determine the gender of a child before it is born through the use of an ultrasound. A major decision for most people currently is if you want to know what gender your baby will be before it is born. While some are making that choice, others are choosing their child’s gender. I intend to address how this is possible, and if allowing such a choice is ethical.
A significant change in gender determination is in progress. Many people are worried about the possibilities that eugenics will bring, including the possibility of gender determination through DNA modification. What these people are overlooking is, gender selection is already in use, and DNA modification is not necessary. Three hundred babies have already had their gender predetermined in the United States through the use of a process called sperm sorting2.
Sperm sorting was initially developed as a means to regulate the gender of offspring in cattle. Sperm sorting is achieved through exploitation of the size difference between the X and Y chromosome. The X and Y chromosome are those that will determine the gender of an offspring. The egg of a female contains two X chromosomes, and each sperm from the male contains either an X or a Y. If the sperm that inseminates the egg contains a Y chromosome the egg will mature into a male, if the sperm that inseminates the egg contains an X, the egg will mature into a female. The X chromosome is approximately three times as large as the Y chromosome.
Early methods of sperm sorting took advantage of the weight difference that is a result of their size difference. A sample of sperm was collected in a test tube, and then spun in a centrifuge, which separates the sample by weight. The X sperm will be at the very bottom of the tube while the Y sperm will be closer to the top. The major problem with this method is the high rate of speed at which the centrifuge spins in order to separate the sperm causes many collisions.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that utilitarianism is based on creating the most good while producing the least amount of harm.
- Opines that a rights perspective focuses on the rights of individuals and eliminates the possibility of banning all sperm sorting.
- Argues that a fairness perspective focuses on the equal distribution of benefits and burdens among all people.
- Argues that banning sperm sorting would equally distribute benefits and burdens on society due to the inherently unequal distribution of wealth.
- Opines that sperm sorting will affect population distribution in the world, and that eliminating chromosome-carrying genetic disorders enhances the common good.
- Argues that a virtue perspective would address what decision we could make that would best develop positive moral virtues.
- Argues that kant's categorical imperative tells us to act in a manner that we would wish to become law for everyone.
- Opines that sperm sorting is harmless at face value, to have tremendous beneficial potential, and should be made available to as many people as possible.
- Opines that sperm sorting should be allowed in cases where it can be used to prevent a genetic defect.
- Describes the rapid analysis of single marine cells by flow cytometry by p.h. burkill.
- Explains burkill, p.h., and mantoura, r.f.c. the rapid analysis of single marine cells by flow cytometry.
- Explains that old wives' tales won't predict the sex of your baby.
- Explains that sperm sorting is based on the size difference between the x and y chromosomes, which determine the gender of an offspring.
- Explains the use of flow cytometry for sperm sorting, which is currently operated by the genetics & ivf institute in fairfax, virginia.
- Explains human genetics alert campaign briefing on the case against sex selection.
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- The History and Objectives of Sex pre-Selectionanalytical essayThe History and Objectives of Sex pre-Selection Scientists have been aware for many years that dominant X-chromosomes produced females and sperm dominate Y-chromosomes produced males. However, it wasn’t until 1975 when scientist Ronald J. Ericsson, PhD. Began studies to determine whether or not enriched sperm samples would aid in the offspring of a desired gender. Sex pre-selection literally means the selection or induction of the gender of a child prior to conception. Sex pre-selection was first established in the 1970s which scientists stained X and Y sperms to successfully identify them.
In this essay, the author
- Explains the history and objectives of sex pre-selection, which was first established in the 1970s when scientists stained x and y sperms to successfully identify them.
- Explains that the concepts of sex selection can be traced back to the ancient times of china, greece, egypt, and india.
- Explains the objective of sex pre-selection, although controversial, is to "directly impact couples psychology who are already under the stress of being treated for a desired baby."
- Explains that china has been emerged from the 1980s to present with abnormal sex ratios at birth. the abnormality is a complicated result of china's social, economic and political context.
- Explains that the objectives of sex selection are to eliminate the "possible causes of the abnormal sexual ratio at birth," including the imbalances due to social factors, and the purious one attributable to the undercounting of female births.
- Analyzes how the two articles provided facts on information that effortlessly concurred with one another. the first article defines what sex pre-selection is and the objectives of the scientists and patients.
530 wordsRead More - Gender Selection Through Prenatal Diagnosis and Abortionanalytical essayGender selection through prenatal diagnosis and abortion has existed since the 1970s. More recently, pre-implantation sexing of embryos for transfer has been developed. Both prenatal and pre-implantation methods of gender selection are seen as horrible unethical and impractical because they require abortion or a costly, intrusive cycle of in vitro fertilization and embryo discard (Hill et al. 438). Through this process if an embryo turns out to be...
In this essay, the author
- Argues that preconception gender selection poses the conflict between individual desires and the larger common good, and could accelerate the trend toward negative and even positive selection of offspring characteristics.
- Argues that prenatal and pre-implantation methods of gender selection are unethical and impractical because they require abortion or a costly cycle of in vitro fertilization and embryo discard.
- Explains that many religions have strict beliefs when it comes to bearing children. according to jewish law, the requirement for a man to procreate is obligatory.
- Analyzes how the world is gender-stereotyping women in general and choosing the male gender over female due to personal reasons.
- Argues that if more parents choose males over females, there could be a gender gap in the future.
- Explains that the technology involved with the processes of gender selection of babies isn't quite there, and the cost of such gender-selection treatments can be astronomical.
- Opines that gender selection of babies is a sensitive topic that has been deemed as immoral, unethical, and sin in the eyes of many people.
- Describes ancona, robertson, john a. preconception gender selection. american journal of bioethics.
- Explains that bhaskar, v., (2008) parental sex selection and gender balance.
- Explains chatfield, katherine. gender selection. sunday herald-sun 21 jun 2009: b.6. news limited.
- Analyzes gadit, amin a. muhammad, "gender selection: is there a growing trend?" journal of pakistan medical association, 31 july 2012.
- Explains g.i serour, transcultural issues in gender selection, international congress series, volume 1266, april 2004, pages 21-31, issn 0531-5131.
- Explains that gender selection is an appropriate use of medical resources.
- Cites j.g. schenker and the ethics committee of the american society of reproductive medicine on preimplantation genetic diagnosis and sex selection.
- States malpani, a. preconception gender selection. american journal of bioethics 1.4 01 sep 2001: null.
- Explains n. gleicher, d. barad, does gender selection devalue women?, fertility and sterility, volume 88, supplement 1, september 2007.
1433 wordsRead More - Hermaphroditism Essayanalytical essayFor a pregnant couple, it is common to be asked what gender your child is going to be: “are you having a boy or a girl?” However, what happens when it is difficult for a child to be classified in a specific gender? It is known that the XX chromosomes make up the genetic blueprint for a female and XY chromosomes make up the blueprint for a male. However, several people have not been identified as either a XX or a XY child. The condition “hermaphroditism”, commonly known as intersex, is the condition where a baby is “born with ambiguous genitalia…abnormally developed genitals that do not clearly identify the child as male or female” (Switzer 67). Thus, intersex people have been coined with the chromosomes XXXY due to uncertainty of which category they belong to. Usually with this condition, the baby would either have an abnormally large clitoris, an abnormally small penis, or both. Hermaphroditism, which falls under the “diagnosis of Disorders of Sexual Development (DSD), affects 1 in 2,000 children each year” (James). A common resolution is for the parent to choose the gender of the child, have the child undergo corrective surgery, and proceed to rear the child in the role of the selected gender. However, it has been argued that this method negatively affects the child both physically and psychologically. So, should parents be able to choose the gender for an intersex child? Some people might support the idea of parents choosing a child’s gender since it can be seen as a cultural aspect of their family and because parents have the freedom of choice. However, it is unreasonable and immoral for a parent to do so as it causes the child to enter into a struggle of self-identity, it does not allow the child to decide on having reconstru...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the xx chromosomes make up the genetic blueprint for a female, whereas xy is for male. hermaphroditism affects 1 in 2,000 children each year.
- Explains that gender identity and gender role are closely related and can be confused with each other.
- Explains that parents choosing a child's gender does not allow the child to decide on reconstructive surgery once they understand and come to terms with their condition.
- Argues that parents should not be allowed to choose a child's gender since it violates the child’s right to identity.
- Argues that it is best for a child to have ity to choose their own gender, but there is an imbalance in the population of sex.
- Concludes that the biological and psychological aspect determines what a child identifies themselves as. intersex children are able to understand this process of gender identity. there are more effective solutions for both the parents and the child.
1369 wordsRead More - Gender Selection for Non-medical Reasons is Ethically Defensibleopinionated essayA gynaecologist can easily perform an ultrasound and tell parents what gender to expect their child to be. Reasonably, parents have the choice to learn the gender or to keep it a surprise. However, For parents to know they are expecting a daughter by chance or for them to choose that they want a daughter are two different cases. There are a variety of methods that allow parents to choose the gender of their child. In some cases, there may be fear of passing down a sex-linked genetic disease and so a certain gender may be preferred to protect the child’s health. However, a contentious issue is whether or not gender selection for non-medical reasons is ethically defensible. There are three positions that one could take: gender selection can never, sometimes, or always be ethically defended. In this paper, I intend to argue that gender selection is always permissible.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how a woman's doctor might exclaim, "congratulations, you've gotten your baby girl!" after giving birth to her daughter. did she know by ultrasound that she was pregnant?
- Explains that a gynaecologist can easily perform an ultrasound and tell parents what gender to expect their child to be.
- Argues that fundamental rights cannot be restricted except for valid reasons. reproductive choice is a fundamental right.
- Opines that everyone should be allowed the option of using these means to select the gender of their child if that is what they want. gender selection should always be permissible because restricting it would limit the right to reproductive choice.
- Opines that they are sympathetic to people who choose not to select the gender of their children.
- Imagines a world where people were forced to decide the gender of their child. that would be restricting reproductive liberty because there is limitation on choice.
- Opines that it is an infringement of liberty to limit reproductive choice in this way.
- Argues that the most important argument against gender selection for non-medical reasons is that it is always sexist.
- Opines that it would be wrong to say that gender selection is always sexist; it does not follow that if i prefer x that i automatically dislike y.
- Opines that sexist assumptions about gender selection are false. however, there are reasons for choosing the gender of a child.
- Opines that allowing gender selection, even if it's sexist, is a better alternative in countries like india.
- Argues that restricting reproductive choice by prohibiting gender selection on the basis that it is sexist should not be seen as a relevant idea. gender selection should always be allowed regardless of the reason.
- Analyzes how dickens, b.m., harris, john, savulescu, julian, and dorothy c. wertz, "preconception sex selection: a question of consequences."
722 wordsRead More - Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis: Son Preferenceopinionated essayWhat if you were given the choice to pick the sex of your baby? Would you do it? This is a controversial question that goes through the mind of millions of people every day. Having the opportunity to choose the sex of their offspring is a chance that many parents people would be delight to have, however, the criticism for Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis is an ongoing issue that has its roots on son preference. Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis can be very helpful in some countries like China and India, but not as much in America due to different cultural and economic circumstances.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that pre-implantation genetic diagnosis can be helpful in some countries like china and india, but not as much in america due to cultural and economic circumstances.
- Explains that pre-implantation genetic diagnosis helps parents screen their embryo and get rid of malicious generic material. however, there is no law that bans the use of pgd for sex selection.
- Explains that sex selection is the practice of using medical techniques to choose the offspring's gender. this topic is a big issue on some asian countries like china.
- Disagrees with nicholas kristof's argument that allowing parents to use p.g.d to choose the sex of a child in the u.s. would create shortage of girls in china and india.
- Opines that the sex imbalance in america would not happen if we were given the chance to pick a gender.
- Concludes that pre-implantation genetic diagnosis is a powerful tool that can allow many people to achieve their dreams and improve the status of society, but it can also be destructive to the current state of another nation.
1110 wordsRead More - The Ethics of Sonography and Gendercideexplanatory essayAmniocentesis and ultrasound techniques are the most common ways for couples to determine the sex of the child before it is born. In the US, such tests are routine and not usually alarming, but in nations such as India and China those tests, and others, have become an issue of debate since the results could mean life or death. Until the 1980’s, people in poor countries could do little about their preference for sons before birth, ...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the constantly growing field of medical technology has raised many questions especially pertaining to ethics. they will discuss the ethics of gendercide and sonography’s affect on this practice.
- Explains sex-selective abortion is the practice of terminating a pregnancy based on the predicted sexuality of the fetus. it is most common in areas where cultural norms value male children over female children.
- Explains that amniocentesis and ultrasound techniques are the most common ways for couples to determine the sex of the child before it is born.
- Explains that this practice affects the family and society as a whole. it has caused an increase in the imbalances between sex ratios.
- Explains that the one-child policy in china has increased the rate of abortion of female fetuses.
- Explains that sex-selective abortion was banned in india in 1994 and in china in 1995.
- Explains that young men have been responsible for the vast preponderance of crime and violence throughout human history.
- Explains that the skewed ratio has probably increased china's savings rate because parents with single sons save to increase his chances of attracting a wife in the ultra-competitive marriage market.
- Opines that india's ultrasound market poses both a significant business and public health opportunity, considering the vast scope of medical applications and the need for imaging technologies among rural and urban populations.
- Explains that there are laws in effect to stop female feticide. manufacturers are obligated to verify that the customer has a valid pndt certificate and has signed an affidavit.
- Opines that it is selfish to kill a child for their own well-being, and that abortions with the sole intention of destroying the female fetus do not justify murder.
- Cites loblay, victoria and taylor, j. of sonograms and baby prams: prenatal diagnosis, pregnancy, and consumption.
1531 wordsRead More - Pre-natal testingopinionated essayThere was an article in Newsweek recently that brought up the issue of using prenatal testing and diagnosis to determine the sex of the child.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that prenatal testing and diagnosis should continue to be used to help parents make an informed decision about their future.
- Explains that having a baby is costly, from doctor’s visits to preparing at home for the new arrival, and couples need to think about how it can strengthen their marriage or tear it apart due to stress.
- Explains that the cost of having a disabled baby raises, the stress of an even more demanding child is higher, and the baby needs so much attention that other children are ignored. many couples’ lifestyles enable them to have this child, while for others it is impossible.
- Opines that it is unethical to bring a child into this world where its needs will not be met and where it won't be loved unconditionally.
- Explains that prenatal testing and diagnosis has become an industry of its own. many couples who have conceived naturally children of the same sex want to "make certain" they have an opposite gender in order to complete their family.
- Argues that prenatal testing and diagnosis should only be used in helping families know certain facts about the new baby in order to make the changes needed before its arrival.
565 wordsRead More - Gender Selectionanalytical essayThere is an undeniable truth, in today’s world, that technology has changed our lives and traditional beliefs that most of people have had difficulty in getting used to that. One of the most questionable changes the technology has given rise to is recently gender selection. It’s been argued for so long whether it is ethical and its possible effects upon societies. Some say it is unethical on the grounds that we interfere with a God’s job that we don’t have a right upon it but with this saying, some important points of these issues are ignored such as reaching a goal which has been wished to come true or possible positive psychological impacts of this opportunity on a family. It, actually, brings about a question in most of people’s mind that would you rather be a person who has never reached your goal which you’ve wished to come true most because some alleged authoritarians took this opportunity away from you ? Some say gender selection is not ethical but is taking right of reaching whatever was aimed by parents away really ethical ? Some people are really biased about sex selection by those alleged authoritarians who have power to inject their intentions to people and they have showed the possible dangers of this issue to the traditional habits as an excuse. They also cast the rest wishing this opportunity to be enacted out of their mind, shortly they ignore them. However, this opportunity should be permissible because of the cruciality in a family with respect to choosing the sex of their babies according to their own standard and happiness of achieving what has been wished to reach in families and taking advantage of this opportunity in a way of medical purposes.
In this essay, the author
- Argues that technology has changed our lives and traditional beliefs that most people have difficulty getting used to. some people are biased about sex selection by alleged authoritarians who have power to inject their intentions to people.
- Opines that having an equal number of children is an indication of a well-balanced family.
- Argues that gender selection is unnatural due to the traditional habits which have survived but they are confused about the terms of being morally wrong and misunderstandings.
- Argues that gender selection has no medical benefit but there are precautions and benefits of that opportunity. the hashmi family's case illustrates that pgd can be used for medical reasons.
- Opines that some people have unjustified bias about this issue because of some alleged authoritarians who think only they know the truth all the time.
- Opines that dahl, edgar, should parents be allowed to choose the sexuality of their children.
- Explains that greenberg, aaron s., and bailey, j.michael: parental selection of children’s sexual orientation.
- Cites guido's pennings: family balancing as a morally acceptable application of sex selection.
1127 wordsRead More - Sexual Identity Essayexplanatory essaySexual and gender identity: Generally, the sex of a new born baby can be easily identified
In this essay, the author
- Explains that males and females tend to adopt certain functions irrespective of their sexual identity.
- Explains that there are many factors that influence the role of sexual and gender identity.
- Explains that some girls are born with considerably higher level of androgens.
- Explains that parents play a major role in determining the gender identity of women.
- Explains that the sex of a new born baby can be easily identified either as boy or girl at birth through the appearance of its external sexual organs.
- Explains that sexual identity is primarily based on considering the parameters of physiological anatomy of a child, whereas the gender identity of the person is an overall decision attained when
- Explains that the normal process of identification of a child's sex at birth may go wrong at the later stage of its life.
- Explains that the sex of a child corresponds to its gender and was linked with each other appropriately. however, if an alteration occurs in the secretion of certain hormones, the infant is likely to suffer from hormonal disorder.
- Explains that boys with extra adrogens behave normally, whereas girls with higher levels of the hormone tend to show typical characteristics.
- Opines that members tend to accept a female child who depicts certain male characteristics and feel proud that their girl is being bold and appears to be tomboyish. however, male gender variance, such as transgenders, has not been percieved favorably.
- Illustrates the different types of reinforcement in families. parents expect their child to behave in such a way that it endorses its assigned sexual identity.
- Explains that when children of both sexes were provided with variety of toys and activities, parents communicated and interacted with male and female children to compare their behavioural changes.
- Explains that girls tend to be associated with calm and friendly activities which largely depends on fantasy and imagined situations. parents play a vital role in shaping the characteristic of boys and girls.
1022 wordsRead More - Autoparasitoid Waspsexplanatory essayThe fertilization process is a female decision. The female stores the male sperm for later fertilization of eggs.
In this essay, the author
- Explains the origin of males by genome loss in an autoparasitoid wasp, nasonia vitripennis.
- Explains that in the study of encarsia pergandiella, male wasps were also found to come from fertilized eggs that had been placed on the whitefly host.
- Explains that a parasite is dependent on its host to live, grow, and multiply. the parasitoid encarsia pergandiella is an immature wasp that kills the whitefly and emerges as free-living adults.
- Explains that almost every cell in the body contains two sets of nearly identical copies of 23 chromosomes, a total of 46 being both female and male.
1288 wordsRead More