Question: Is it possible for parents to choose the gender of the baby?

Asked by madicampbell to Anissa, Eleanor, Mel, Mia, Sam on 4 Sep 2013. This question was also asked by erynsymonsxx.

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  1. Photo: Mia ZericMia Zeric
    answered on 4 Sep 2013:

    Hello Madicampbell and erynsymonsxx. If we you talking about a natural conception of a child then no! We cannot chose the gender of the newborn. However through IVF ( Invirto fertilisation), when scientist basically mixes an egg and a sperm in a test tube it is possible to choose the gender of the baby. BUT BUT BUT!!!! Is it ethical? What happens if the world has far more women then men? Will men become extinct? Serious questions!
    we really don’t want to throw the balance off and personally when I expect the birth of my child I don’t care if it is a boy or a girl. I just hope that he or she is healthy and keen for life 😀

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  2. Photo: Sam AskinSam Askin
    answered on 4 Sep 2013:

    Hey madicampbell this is a really good question because it is causing a LOT of arguments between scientists, and with the global public. Scientists can actually determine and influence the sex of embryos to be a boy or a girl, yes! This is especially relevant for those parents that use IVF (where scientists fertilise an egg with sperm and then implant it in the mother), where the scientists have access to the embryo first. But there are bans on choosing the gener, so you are not allowed to do it even if you want to at the moment! There is a lot of argument about whether it is right or wrong to choose a baby’s sex. In some places you can only do it if there is a risk that the baby will have a health problem if it a specific gender. Personally, unless there is a health risk, I don’t like the idea of sex determination. Some things are meant to be left to nature!

    What do you think? Have you heard any of the stories about doing different crazy things to try to make a baby turn out as a boy or girl?

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Comments

  1. Photo: madicampbellmadicampbell
    commented on 6 Sep 2013:

    @samaskin well i think i have heard something like it on the news… .lol Thanks @Miazeric & @Samaskin for answering my questions!! 🙂

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  2. Photo: SamSam
    commented on 6 Sep 2013:

    Yes it is all over the news a lot because it affects a lot of people who want this sort of control over their babies, or people who think it is wrong. What do you think?

    Glad we could help!

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