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RIGHT ORWRONG?
Choosing
YourUnbornChild's
S
OCIETY,
envis ioned in
Aldous H uxley's
Brave
New World,
is one in
which a ll human reproduc–
tion is subject to laboratory
regimentation. That fright–
ening world of experimenta–
tion may be closer than you
think.
R ecent developments in clon–
ing, test - tube babies and genetic
ma nipulation are curre ntly "the
ma in a ttract ion" of new scien–
tific " miracles."
Though somewhat less well–
known, yet a nother prodi gious
scienti fic achievement threatens to
comp l e t e H uxl ey's scenario.
Through two distinct processes, it
is now possible for parents to have a
child of the sex of their choice.
Process One
An experimental sperm separat ion
techn ique pioneered in 1973 by
reproductive physiologist Dr. Ron–
ald Er icson of Sausalito, California,
is 75 percent effect ive in producing
a male child. A method has not yet
been developed to ensure a similar
success ratio for female offspring.
Usi ng a test tube fi lled with
dense layers of increasing percent–
ages of serum albumin- a protein
found in human blood- Dr. Eric–
son fil ters the majority of female
(x) chromosomes out of the sperm
he will use for insemination. He is
able todo so because male-produc–
ing sperm swim through the filters
September/ October 1982
SEX
by
Dan Taylor
faster than female-p r oduc ing
sperm. T hus, the bottom !ayer of
the test tube contains a proportion–
ally higher amount of ma le (y)
chromosome bearing sperm with
which the mother-to-be is artificial–
ly inseminated.
Process Two
The second human-devised process
is 100 percent effective. Jt involves
t he u.se of a proced u re called
amniocentesis and, if necessary,
abortion.
In this process, o rigi nally in–
tended as a test to screen birth
defects in high-risk mothers, a sam–
ple of amniotic fluid is drawn ou t of
the abdomen of a woman 16 to 18
weeks pregnant. After two to fou r
weeks, test results wi ll reveal most
common birth defects, as well as
the sex of the chi ld .
It must be pointed out that most
doctors try to screen out those who
merely want to de termine the
child's sex in a rder to decide
wbether to keep the fetus or not.
However, physicians also admit
that many women have faked their
family history in arder to persuade
the doctor to perform the test. And
in most cases, the doctor has no
means of verifying the woman's
information.
Many wome n (no one knows
how many), therefore, are able to
take an amniocentesis and make the
decision of whether or not to keep
the developing chi ld solely based on
the test's determination of its sex.
This of course means the unwanted
unborn girl or boy may be aborted
so that the couple can then try
again to get the child of the sex of
their choice.
Pandora' s Box
Many in the medical profession are
awaiting further studies on sperm
separation techniques befare making
any final judgments. But the use of
amniocentesis as a sex selection tool
has come under fire from an unex–
pected and ironic quarter: proabor–
tionists and feminists .
At a sym pos ium on human
reproduction in 1980, Ms Roberta
Steinbacher, head of Urban Studies
at Cleveland State University, said
"lt
is clear that sex preselect ion
research has far outdis tanced seri–
ous discussion of its ethical, social,
legal and demographic impl ica–
tions."
Calling the implicatio ns fo r
women "staggering," M s Stein–
bacher explained that t he result of
widespread use of sex preselection
would increase the percentage of
males in the human population
because of the preference for sons
by most parents.
R epo r ts com i ng out of the
People's Republic of China indi–
cate that many mothers-to-be are
making sure that the government–
sanctioned one chi ld per famil y for
ci ty dwellers is a mate.
In one repor t , a test group of 30
couples opted for an abortion after
a selection test. Of the 30 couples,
29 did so solely beca use their child
was determined to be a female.
Says Ms Steinbacher, "Suppose
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