Should Parents Decide The Fate of Their Own Child's Gender?

 PITTSBURGH—Medical advancements in fertility have allowed people with difficulty conceiving children to become parents. Techniques such as in vitro fertilization provide an opportunity to select which fetuses, including which gender, are implanted. This has led to ethical questions on whether parents should be allowed to choose the gender of their child. The practice is already in use for medical reasons since certain genetic conditions are prevalent in one gender over another. The debate tends to arise in considering the practice for social reasons, such as gender preference. I asked several people in the Pittsburgh area whether gender selection should be the choice of parents.

Many people interviewed felt gender selection should not be left to parents, though they cited different reasons for their opposition. Max Nicolussi, a 19-year-old student at Duquesne University was clear with his position on this hot topic. “I feel like if I was a parent, I would not choose for them because, if I had a kid, I would want them to make their own decisions in life.” Nicolussi, seeming annoyed, uttered, "There is no need to force anything. There is no point!"

Nationally and internationally, others share Nicolussi’s opinion. In an Australian publication targeted to professionals in obstretics and gynecology, Dr. Tamara Kayali Browne pointed out that parents choosing a child’s gender denies the child the right of self-determination. One person interviewed, a University of Pittsburgh student who asked not to be named, shared a personal experience with gender identity and family expectations. “If a parent chooses one gender over another, they are showing preference for that gender,” he said. “I have to wonder if they are choosing a gender or a gender identity or role. If the child identifies differently, they may feel like they are loved or wanted less,” the student added.

Others opposed to gender selection for non-medical reasons argue that choosing the gender of children will cause an imbalance between men and women and will negatively impact societies long-term. Christina Rodrigues, a 38-year-old pharmacist of Squirrel Hill used China’s limit of children as a strong defense to the question I asked. Sighing, Rodrigues boldly stated, “No. It’s birth engineering. What seemed like a good idea to have sons in China backfires when there aren’t enough daughters to produce the next generation. Let nature decide.”

Religion is another theme that runs through the comments of those opposed to gender selection. 72-year-old retiree Nancy Black said she is not overly devout in her religious beliefs but still feels uncomfortable with humans interfering in the course of nature. “Let God do God’s work.” Black said. Others echoed the sentiment that interference with the divine is at least uncomfortable and, at most, sinful.

Despite several comments in opposition to fetal gender selection, I did speak with some supporters of the practice.  42-year-old Pittsburgh native Rodney Harrison stated, “My mama always said that raising boys was easier so maybe that was part of why I wanted my first to be a boy. That and I wanted to teach him football and all the stuff I liked growing up. I heard new technology could almost guarantee me a boy and I checked it out. What they don’t tell you is how expensive it is. I wanted a boy, but I didn’t want one that bad.” Harrison shared that his first child was a girl, and he and his wife have since had a boy. “You know what’s crazy,” Harrison asked? “My baby girl is a sports nut and my boy doesn’t care much. You can’t predict that stuff.”  When asked again if he thinks parents should be able to choose gender, he said, “Sure. I’m not against it. But I think it worked out for me like it was supposed to.”

Sarah and Christine, a married couple and mothers to one boy, said they understand why parents would want to choose a child’s gender. “Obviously it didn’t matter to us,”
Christine explained, pointing to her young son. “But we do know other same-sex couples who are more comfortable raising a same-gender child. They should be allowed to make that choice.” Sarah agreed, saying, “Society already puts so many obstacles in the way of same-sex couples who want to be parents. Why add one more?”

Even respondents opposed to gender selection in general seemed to differentiate between medical and social reasons for parents who want to make that choice. Ethical discussions point out that boys and girls are prone to different medical conditions based on their genetic chromosomes. If the choice meant saving the child from a debilitating condition such as Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy, largely specific to boys, gender selection seemed to be more widely accepted when compared to gender selection based on social reasons such as personal preference.

No definitive answer was produced from this informal survey, demonstrating that parents choosing their child’s gender is an ethical question many Pittsburgh residents see differently.