Chapter 16, Problem 1QC

Summary Introduction

To review:

The consideration of testing the gender of the child before the birth.

Introduction:

When a sperm fertilizes the egg, based on the sex chromosome present in the sperm, there is a 50% chance that the child could be male or female. The gender is determined by the method of amniocentesis where the amniotic fluid is sampled and screened.

A couple if wants to opt for a child with the gender that they want, it is possible to do so with the advent of sperm sorting. Sperm sorting is a technique that is based on the fact of difference of DNA content, as X (female) chromosome carries more DNA than the Y (male) chromosome, and is larger in size also. The use of fluorescent dye helps in sorting of sperm sample as “female-enriched” or “male-enriched”, for the artificial insemination of the mother. Today, it is possible for expecting parents to not only test for the gender of the child but also for any genetic abnormalities that might be present in the child.

Explanation of Solution

The decision of determining the sex before the birth of the child depends on the couple. There are a number of reasons why a couple may opt to know the gender of the child. This could be as simple as doing appropriate preparations.

A lot of people like to set up the nursery or buy things like clothes and toys for a baby before the birth. The preparations that they would like to do might be different depending on if the child was a boy or a girl. Many people would also gift different things for a boy or a girl so that might be another reason to want to know the gender.

Some people would choose not to know the gender because they want to avoid the gender biasness.

Analyzing a completely different perspective where there is female feticide, some countries banned sex determination. Countries like India prohibit determining the gender of a child because of the high incidence of female feticide in some parts of the country.

Conclusion

Advances in technology have now made it possible for people to check for the gender of the child they are expecting. Different perspectives may result in different outcomes upon choosing or not choosing to determine the gender of the unborn child.