Gender is someone’s conscious and unconscious feelings of belonging to one sex or another. Each year, about 1 in 4500 children are born with a disorder involving sexual development, where the chromosomal, gonadal, or anatomical sex is atypical. Here we will consider two similar cases with different outcomes. In case 1, a 2-year-old child displayed a mosaic chromosome composition of 45, X/46, XY, with one ovary, one testis, a uterus, and ambiguous genitalia. In case 2, a fetus was diagnosed with a mosaic chromosome composition of 46, XX/47, XXY, and after birth, also displayed one testis, one ovary, a uterus, and ambiguous genitalia. The child in case 1 was adopted from an orphanage and raised as a girl. After consultation with the medical team, the parents decided to continue raising the child as a girl and requested surgery that would completely feminize the child. In case 2, the parents decided to forego treatment and let the child make the choice about gender later in life and to remain neutral about the child’s present condition. These cases raise questions about sex determination and the ethics of sex and gender assignment.
Compare and contrast the ethical decisions faced by the parents in both cases 1 and 2. Should parents be allowed to make the decision about the gender of their child? If not, at what age should the child be allowed to make this decision?
Want to see the full answer?
Check out a sample textbook solutionChapter 7 Solutions
Concepts of Genetics Plus Mastering Genetics with Pearson eText -- Access Card Package (12th Edition) (What's New in Genetics)
- An individual with XY chromosomes produces gametes where 50% have an extra sex chromosome and 50% have no sex chromosomes. Given this information, what is the probability a fertilized egg will have the genotype XO? Assume that the egg has the expected 23 chromosomes prior to fertilization. 1/3 1/2 1/8 1/4 It is not 1/3 or 1/4arrow_forwardIn a germline cell of genotype Ff Qq where genes F and Q are on different chromosomes, capital and lowercase letters represent alternate alleles (versions or variants) of each gene. If this cell undergoes normal meiosis to produce sperm, what are the possible sperm genotypes? FQ, fq, Fq, fQ Ff, Qq, FQ, fq, Fq, fQ O Ff, Ff, Qq, Qq O F, f, Q, qarrow_forwardA human is discovered to have a sex chromosome karyotype of XXY. What phenotypic sex would this individual be and how many Barr bodies would be present in somatic cells. Group of answer choices male: one male: two female; none hermaphrodite; one female; onearrow_forward
- A female has a family history of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a recessive sex- linked condition that is carried on the X chromosome. She does not have the disease. Her brother, sister, and father all have the disease, while her mother does not. She recently married a male with no family history of the disease. If they decide to have children, what percentage of their sons will have the disease? * O 0% O 25% O 50% O 100%arrow_forwardA husband and wife have normal vision, although both of the couple's fathers are red-green color-blind, an inherited X-linked recessive condition. What is the probability that the couple's first child will be a normal son? Enter your answer as a fraction or a whole number. Hint: Remember, humans determine sex via the XX = female, XY = male system. Think about the probability of having either a son or a daughter and the probability of having red - green color blindness.arrow_forwardIn which parent the chromosomal mutation occurred. Father or Mother At what stage in meiosis (I or II) the chromosomal mutation occurred see image attachedarrow_forward
- Usually, if a gene that affects a particular genetic trait is NOT located on a sex chromosome, then consequently (click all that apply) it is an autosomal gene. a diploid cell should have at least two copies of this gene during G1 phase. this gene will be absent from the genomes of gametes. this trait should appear with roughly equal frequency in males and females. this trait must be “dominant.”arrow_forwardI need help filling out the chartarrow_forwardMen have XY (or YX) chromosomes and women have XX chromosomes. X-linked recessive genetic diseases (such as juvenile retinoschisis) occur when there is a defective X chromosome that occurs without a paired X chromosome that is not defective. Represent a defective X chromosome with lowercase x, so a child with the xY or Yx pair of chromosomes will have the disease and a child with XX or XY or YX or xX or Xx will not have the disease. Each parent contributes one of the chromosomes to the child. Complete parts a through d below. a. If a father has the defective x chromosome and the mother has good XX chromosomes, what is the probability that a son will inherit the disease? nothing (Type an integer or a decimal. Do not round.) b. If a father has the defective x chromosome and the mother has good XX chromosomes, what is the probability that a daughter will inherit the disease? nothing (Type an integer or a decimal. Do not round.) c. If a mother has one defective x…arrow_forward
- Sickle-cell disease is an inherited chronic blood disease caused by an autosomal recessive allele. Suppose a man with sickle-cell disease fathers a child by a woman who is a carrier for sickle-cell disease. What are the chances their children will get the disease? O percent 25 percent 50 percent 75 percentarrow_forwardA mother and father have four children; two sons and two daughters. What is the probability that the brothers share the same Y chromosome? 100% 25% 50% 0%arrow_forwardEarlobes can be attached to the face or non-attached. An attached earlobe is a recessive trait. A female with attached earlobes (Il) has a child with a man with non-attached earlobes. He is heterozygous for this trait. Questions: a. What are the possible genotypes of the egg the woman can produce? b. What are the possible genotypes of the sperm the man can produce? c. What is the genotype ratio for the offspring? d. What is the phenotype ratio for the offspring? e. What is the couple's chance of having a child with attached earlobes?arrow_forward
- Human Physiology: From Cells to Systems (MindTap ...BiologyISBN:9781285866932Author:Lauralee SherwoodPublisher:Cengage LearningHuman Biology (MindTap Course List)BiologyISBN:9781305112100Author:Cecie Starr, Beverly McMillanPublisher:Cengage LearningBiology: The Unity and Diversity of Life (MindTap...BiologyISBN:9781305073951Author:Cecie Starr, Ralph Taggart, Christine Evers, Lisa StarrPublisher:Cengage Learning