There are some things that can be assessed purely on their technical merits and demerits. But some things cannot be looked at purely through the prism of technicality. When it comes to choosing your baby’s gender or gender selection, there are moral and ethical contexts that come into contention.
Gender selection is certainly a gift when you consider the ambit of medically assisted conception but when we talk about natural pregnancy, the premise becomes contentious. The controversy of baby’s gender selection is not new and it is unlikely that there will be any consensus on the same, let aside unanimity. Let us talk about pros and cons of choosing your baby’s gender from a pragmatic standpoint.
The Pros of Choosing Your Baby’s Gender
1. Family size.
There are many couples who want a certain number of kids. Most couples want two kids and they want one girl and one boy. This is the most common family size that people opt for. But in an attempt to have one girl and one boy, a family may end up with three girls and one boy or one girl and two boys. Couples may keep trying for another baby if they want a girl or boy. Gender selection can help them to have the boy or girl they want and then restrict the family size as per their desire.
2. Preferred gender for a baby.
Every woman and man has a slight preference when it comes to baby’s gender. Most people forget their preference when a baby is born but one does harbor a wish to have a daughter or son. Such a desire can be fulfilled with the help of gender selection or choosing your baby’s gender. Without gender selection, it would be all about fate or luck and a couple may never have a desired gender for a baby. There are families who have five daughters in an attempt to have a son. And there are many families who keep having sons when they want a daughter. Other than getting a desire or wish fulfilled, choosing baby’s gender helps in instilling some gender balance in the family.
3. Gender specific preparation.
Most families opt for unisex stuffs for babies before they are born. From clothes to toys, the color of the crib to the various necessities and accessories, everything is gender neutral in most cases. With gender selection or knowing baby’s gender can help every family to buy gender specific items. This not only does away with the ambiguity but actually helps the baby to get the best stuff as well. There is also a financial aspect as after the birthing of a baby, the parents always spend money on items that are for a boy or girl respectively. Knowing the gender or choosing gender allows for smart shopping during the trimesters. The economic advantage is not oft talked about but it is significant.
4. Freedom of choice.
Choosing baby’s gender may not appear as a freedom of choice for those looking at politically right things to say but if you consider the fact that parents get to choose the sex of their baby then it is indeed a desirable scenario. It isn’t always bias or perceptions that dictate decisions on gender. At times, it could be to prevent gender specific diseases from being passed onto a baby.
The Cons of Choosing Your Baby’s Gender
1. Interfering with nature.
Nature determines the gender or sex of a newborn. It is sheer chance and a process that is not fully understood. While there is an explanation why, how and when the sex is determined naturally, it is not within human control in the natural scheme of things. By choosing to opt for a certain gender and opting against another, it is interfering with what nature intends or intended to do. The natural selection process is impaired when you choose your baby’s gender.
2. It is expensive.
Gender selection is expensive. Medical interventions can cost as much as twenty thousand or even more in some places. Also, there is no certainty that the process would be a success. Choosing your baby’s gender may not work out and you may end up with a futile financial investment.
3. No surprise.
The birth of a baby brings sheer joy and the uncertainty of the gender makes it all the more special and obviously surprising. This element of surprise no longer exists and there can be that palpable feeling of what could have happened had nature been allowed to take the call.
4. Misuse.
While female infanticides are not common or even heard of in developed nations, something that developing and relatively backward countries are still plagued with, yet gender bias does exist in all societies. Gender selection can fuel gender biases further.
5. Jeopardizing sex ratio.
Should a large section of the populace choose one gender over another, then there can be a massive imbalance in the sex ratio. Nature has its way of keeping things balanced. Look at the one child policy in China. It has controlled the population but has ruined the natural sex ratio.