| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| shy |
Posted - 28 January 2004 : 10:55:22 AM
Parents now have the power to choose the sex of their children. But as technology answers prayers, it also raises some troubling questions
Sharla Miller of Gillette, Wyo., always wanted a baby girl, but the odds seemed stacked against her. Her husband, Shane, is one of three brothers, and Sharla and her five siblings (four girls, two boys) have produced twice as many males as females. After the Millers' first son, Anthony, was born in 1991, along came Ashton, now 8, and Alec, 4. Each one was a gift, says Sharla, but the desire for a girl never waned. "I'm best friends with my mother," she says. "I couldn't get it out of my mind that I wanted a daughter." Two years ago Sharla, who had her fallopian tubes tied after Alec's birth, began looking into adopting a baby girl. In the course of her Internet research, she stumbled upon a Web site for the Fertility Institutes in Los Angeles, headed by Dr. Jeffrey Steinberg, where she learned about an in vitro fertilization technique called preimplantation genetic diagnosis. By creating embryos outside the womb, then testing them for gender, PGD could guarantee—with almost 100 percent certainty—the sex of her baby. Price tag: $18,480, plus travel. Last November Sharla's eggs and Shane's sperm were mixed in a lab dish, producing 14 healthy embryos, seven male and seven female. Steinberg transferred three of the females into Sharla's uterus, where two implanted successfully. If all goes well, the run of Miller boys will end in July with the arrival of twin baby girls. "I have three wonderful boys," says Sharla, "but since there was a chance I could have a daughter, why not?"
The brave new world is definitely here. After 25 years of staggering advances in reproductive medicine—first test-tube babies, then donor eggs and surrogate mothers—technology is changing baby-making in a whole new way. No longer can science simply help couples have babies, it can help them have the kind of babies they want. Choosing gender may obliterate one of the fundamental mysteries of procreation, but for people who have grown accustomed to taking 3-D ultrasounds of fetuses, learning a baby's sex within weeks of conception and scheduling convenient delivery dates, it's simply the next logical step. That gleeful exclamation, "It's a boy!" or "It's a girl!" may soon just be a quaint reminder of how random births used to be.
Shy
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| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| shy |
Posted - 22 August 2005 : 9:29:17 PM
quote:
Originally posted by savage_roo
And I would't worry about there being to many males in the world
When there are 3 to 1 already Yep for every one guy there are three wemon waiting for you lmao Think about it
You mean for every one guy there are three women willing to laugh at them... 
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| savage_roo |
Posted - 06 February 2005 : 09:29:45 AM
Hi I'm the newbe lol
And I would't worry about there being to many males in the world
When there are 3 to 1 already
Yep for every one guy there are three wemon waiting for you lmao
Think about it |
| Mazeppa |
Posted - 31 May 2004 : 11:45:41 AM
Brave new worlds, brave new babies......Most farmers in the recent past desired male babies as they were stronger to work the field, female children were also desired to marry others in the area and broaden family ties.....and chicks are GREAT on a farm.......trust me on this one.... But in this era, I am naught sure why gender selection is important. True, that when war occurs we loose shitloads of men, usually the most physically fit ones, and that the gene pool looses some water, but also by the occurance of the next generation the male/female ratio balances again.......and also it is true parents desiring male or female leeches I mean children is probably 50/50......the question is whether you personally wish to take advantage of such technology, and suffer or enjoy the consequence.
mazeppa |
| Iceheart |
Posted - 25 May 2004 : 3:08:56 PM
I guess being able to choose whetehr you have boy or a girl human infant could have its advantages.
My mother had 4 of us girls and I guess she was lucky after the 3rd and 4th coz she already had all the stuff for girl babies.
Plus if someone in your family has had a boy baby and you would like a boy baby, it'd certainly make it cheaper on you if they were willing to pass down clothes, toys etc. Baby shopping is fucking expensive as, before you even CONSIDER getting to clothes and toys!
But it does raise the question - witht his technology does that mean we are really and truly on the way to becoming Aldus Huxley's Brave New World? where we are all gentically engineered and programmed before we are born....I dunno if I like that idea.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Darla.
I hate your stinking guts.
You make me vomit.
You're scuuuumm between my toes.
Love Alfalfa.
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| Witchy Woman |
Posted - 05 May 2004 : 12:29:16 PM
Oh looky what I started and I wasn't even trying 
--::>> Witchy Woman <<::-- |
| Mazeppa |
Posted - 20 April 2004 : 2:19:38 PM
Hey Joch, I hope you don't keep your opinions to your self! Very well worded, and of interest. And I must say, this topic is certainly bringing out interesting discussion and opinions!! I hope no one has hard feelings over this, we are here to discuss things, enrich our lives, knowledge and opinions, some of which might change or at least be quite broadened. The topic of controlling birth is as sensitive as that of controlling death, I don't wonder we are all so fired up about it!
*Keep 'em flyin'!!*
Hugs to all,
mazeppa |
| joch666 |
Posted - 15 April 2004 : 8:49:30 PM
Thanks shy, but I don't need to explain my reasons to anyone :) The fact that someone disagrees with me is fine. I sincerely hope that life is perpetually pleasant for all who believe it so.
Telling me to keep my legs closed is broaching matters which are no one's concern but mine and my partner's, and I invited no comment on the subject. I do have some very strong opinions on pro-choice matters, but they are hardly appropriate here. It's not the first time that I have been ridiculed or put down for not having a 'normal' basic desire to reproduce.
I merely sought to express an opinion I held about the subject, which I thought everyone else was doing, and was basically the point of the discussion. In future I will keep my opinions to myself. Given the subject matter of this site, I expected a modicum of maturity in the postings, especially since it deals with a lot of potentially disturbing matters. I am pleased with the majority. Sorry to cause a ruckus, shy. |
| shy |
Posted - 15 April 2004 : 6:34:06 PM
quote:
Originally posted by CAT
Watch out witchy...Kanjo might yell at you for not being relevant to the topic.
Let me start by saying that Witchy's conversation about children's attitudes is quite on-topic Cat for a discussion regarding Brave New Babies. Much more so than a couple of other people's contributions around the place of late.
And please don't question or attempt to ridicule the actions of my Moderators. It offends me that you show little respect for others on my Crypt and the rules pertaining to my site.
quote:
It's true though attitude is not to be judged online.
And if you don't want kids...you DO keep your legs closed and you DO keep your dick in your pants. It's not attitude it's common sense.
Cat, I have to agree somewhat with Witchy's comment, when you are 18, everything seems so black and white, but in adult life there are large grey areas. Long term relationships with people can sway people's better judgement on whether to have children or not have children, so can one's finacial situation, education levels and a host of other issues.
In an ideal world keeping 'your legs closed' or 'your dick in your pants' is relatively easier, but once you apply it to real life it becomes somewhat more difficult.
Maybe it would have been a better approach for you to ask Joch why she feels the way she does or to explain her post a little more rather than cast your opinions on her. Everyone leads different lives, with different circumstances and different values.
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| CAT |
Posted - 15 April 2004 : 1:30:59 PM
Watch out witchy...Kanjo might yell at you for not being relevant to the topic.
It's true though attitude is not to be judged online.
And if you don't want kids...you DO keep your legs closed and you DO keep your dick in your pants. It's not attitude it's common sense. |
| mistresskitty |
Posted - 15 April 2004 : 1:18:32 PM
witchy its not an attitude its a statement. how can you tell someone has an attitude over the computer. someone spends a little too much time online
We serial killers are your sons, we are your husbands, we are everywhere. And there will be more of your children dead tomorrow. -Ted Bundy |
| Witchy Woman |
Posted - 15 April 2004 : 02:31:42 AM
Joch, don't you just love 18 year olds with what they think is attitude? |
| mistresskitty |
Posted - 15 April 2004 : 02:04:34 AM
joch for your information
1. i was a good kid
2. my parents have enough money to be happy and still make their kids happy
3. im a teen dont/have never/will never smoke pot
if you dont want children then
a) keep your legs closed
b) keep your dick in your pants
We serial killers are your sons, we are your husbands, we are everywhere. And there will be more of your children dead tomorrow. -Ted Bundy |
| joch666 |
Posted - 14 April 2004 : 8:03:48 PM
Heh. Well it's nice to know there's something positive to be gained from pregnancy.. still not enough to outweigh the negatives of bloating, back and general body ache, nausea, not to mention the agony and utter grossness of childbirth.. Then the next 30 years of poverty, grey hair and having to put up with dirty nappies, screaming toddlers and pot smoking teens...
As you can tell, I'm not exactly in the "I love and want kids" category. No. There is no good here.  |
| CAT |
Posted - 14 April 2004 : 06:08:40 AM
It's true. Science is disturbing the natural order of things. And most times not for the better. |
| mistresskitty |
Posted - 14 April 2004 : 03:27:19 AM
theres not a problem with chosing a sex
the problem lies in science is taking over something so natural from the beginning of time. the whole part of being pregnant is the suprise and enjoy being pregnant. wheres the intimacy?
We serial killers are your sons, we are your husbands, we are everywhere. And there will be more of your children dead tomorrow. -Ted Bundy |
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