Choosing sex?

I have no problem with people who go through IVF choosing the sex. I fail to see how it hurts anyone else.

Also, the story in the Herald was calling it 'Who Gets Born' which I think is too emotive. It implies abortion based on gender (which obviously I'm extremely opposed to, I think most people would be), rather than just choosing one blastocyst over another before transferring it to the uterus. A blastocyst isn't a 'real' baby because otherwise unused embryos couldn't be disposed of after IVF treatment had finished. So the way they're talking about it at the moment is a bit of a double standard.

Someone - Mellybelly? Ginger? - who has done IVF will know way more about this than me, I'm just going on my fairly limited understanding.

MamaPickle wrote: Yeah, I would be interested from an IVF recipient's point of view.

To be honest, I can absolutely say that for myself, I have been through so much, and fought so hard to have a child, that even if they'd given me the option I wouldn't have taken it. I want a child so much, and gender means nothing. Whether our child is a boy or a girl, it'll be it's own special person. I can't imagine choosing not to have the child I'll have ... does that make sense?

I think you'll find that the majority of people who must go through IVF would choose not to be there, and just want a child, boy or girl. For us, life and health are all that matter.

I'm not for it.

MamaPickle wrote: eta: I just don't like the though that, for any of those selections, you have to make a bunch of embryos to choose from, so you know right from the word go that you are making life only to dispose of it if it doesn't fit what you want, and being the wrong gender is a really frivolous reason to do that, I think.

And yes, that's a really good point. It's difficult knowing that you have embryos who will possibly be destroyed - it's still life in my opinion (eg. I have 5 embryos, and if our next FET works first time, we will be in a position where 4 will be destroyed). We're in the position where we may have to make that decision because we have no other choice - I can't imagine choosing to be in that position for something so, as you say, frivilous!, as to choosing a boy or girl. And what if all your embryos were one sex, the opposite to what you wanted????

It's WRONG.... How can we decide what gender should be born. It's just too scary to mess with creation.

Just my opinion but nope can't believe it would/ could happen!

I totally disagree with it, in part, because I definately view it as a slippery slope towards other types of engineering. Playing God has too many far reaching consequences. Gender is not an illness so why treat it as such? We run the risk of all kinds of unplanned ramifications as a society as a whole.

I'm actaully all for it - if you're paying for IVF, why not have the option to choose the sex? I don't think it will create an imbalance in society as not many couples undergo IVF and most of those (like Ginger) probably wouldn't care to take up the option. However, if say a couple with 5 boys want a girl and are willing to go thru IVF, I don't see why it shouldn't be an option.
Ok I'm dunking now

I'm not comfy with the playing God aspect either. I can see the merits in cases where there are certain gender-specific genetic conditions, but then where do you draw the line between what conditions qualify? Does a family history of breast cancer justify only selecting a male embryo "just in case" or is it only OK in the case of major, life-affecting, definite genetic conditions like haemophilia. And since it's possible to test an for those genetic conditions without testing the gender...

I'm with whoever said it's a slippery slope...

I totally agree with Fiona's comment. It is a slippery slope.
May be an extreme but I keep thinking of the movie Gattaca.

The problem is that the UK and the US already allow it (so they said in the news) so I think it's just a matter of time before it becomes commonplace.

i think designer babies are just outright wrong!!!!

but

i think choosing the sex for ivf babies is ok only as i have a friend , he has 6 brothers the last 2 were ivf and finally his mum had a girl she was sooooooo over the moon.
their little girl died in an accident, it was heartwrenching for all of them.

I worked on a research project on this topic, it was really interesting to see people's opinions and made me think hard about what I thought about it all. I was working on it while pregnant with DD1 so it really struck home with me!

For a lot of people it comes down to where you consider life to start - is that little embryo or blastocyst a life or not?

Personally, my gut tells me I'm against choosing gender. I guess my view is if it isn't broken, don't fix it. Even for those going through IVF for fertility reasons, I don't think it should be allowed - then there are all sorts of arguments about why some are allowed it when others aren't. I don't like the idea of manipulation when it comes to procreation. I think IVF is a blessing for those with fertility problems, but mixed up in that is the knowledge that unused embryos are destroyed, like Ginger talked about.

I can see the logic and benefit behind allowing gender selection for genetic medical conditions, but also can't see how it can have boundaries put on it to be fair, so think it probably shouldn't happen.

Muh. I can't form my thoughts properly today, I will come back later when I have a better brain!