Expectant parents can now learn as early as 5 weeks into a pregnancy what the sex of the child is thanks to a lab that is offering over-the-counter gender tests. (Story here.) That’s right! You can try for the boy you’ve always wanted. And if you don’t get him, just throw out the baby with the bathwater.
I’m all for technology and progress. There’s some thought that a test similar to this one could be used to identify genetic diseases and other such inherited problems early in pregnancy. That’s important. But what value do we get from determining a baby’s sex at 5 weeks? Why not wait until 16 weeks, which is when most ultrasounds can begin to detect gendered physical traits.
The only benefit I can see is the ability to abort a child you don’t want based on sex—gender bias of the worst kind.
Moreover, the company is insisting it will only sell to
What do you think: Is learning the sex of a child at 5 weeks a bad or good thing?
1 comment:
I think it's a great thing. Why is 16 weeks better? Just because it's what we're used to? 5 weeks gives you more time to plan, and a lot of abortions happen in China at 16 weeks, which is less humane than at 5 weeks, though infinitely better than killiing your baby once it's arrived so you can try for another, which also happens with alarming frequency in China.
People will still have the right not to know that they have now.
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