Sex selection

Sex selection seminar by JATAN SANSTAN Rajasamand

On eight September 2010 we had a one day seminar on sex

selection in the Udaipur school of social work. The seminar was
organized by the National Service Scheme department of the
Janardan Rai Nagar Rajasthan Vidyapeeth University Udaipur
The seminar was contacted by Jatan Sanstan RaJasamand.
Dr. Dharmendhra Singh was the main spokes person.

Objectives: the main objective of the seminar was to create

awareness among the students about the facts and dangers of sex
selection.

Proceedings: On eight September 2010 at 9.30 am we have

started the day with society anthem written by prof. Janardan Rai
Nagar. The day’s programme was introduced by the NSS
coordinator Dr. Veena Dwivedi. The resource team presented the
matter through class and power point presentation.

What is sex selection?

Social sex selection or human sex selection is the attempt to control the
sex of the offspring to achieve a desired sex. It can be accomplished in
several ways, both pre- and post-implantation of an embryo, as well as at
birth. It has been marketed under the title family balancing.
The methods used for sex selection.
There are two major types of pre-implantation methods can be used for
social sex selection.

1. Sperm sorting - The separation of X chromosome sperm from Y

chromosome sperm by flow cytometry. The resulting sorted sperm are used
in either artificial insemination or in-vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures.

2. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) - In sex selection cases, embryos

resulting from IVF procedures are genetically tested for X or Y
chromosomes. The embryos of the desired sex are then implanted.

No "seamless" method is known to exist where couples take certain

measure before sexual intercourse normally.

Sex-selective infanticide - Killing children of the unwanted sex. Though

illegal in most parts of the world, it is still practiced.

Sex-selective child abandonment - Abandoning children of the unwanted

sex. Though illegal in most parts of the world, it is still practiced.

Sex-selective adoption - Placing children of the unwanted sex up for

adoption. Less commonly viewed as a method of social sex selection,
adoption affords families that have a gender preference a legal means of
choosing offspring of a particular sex.

There are a wide variety of social sex selections methods which have not
been demonstrated to be effective. Because even implausible and ineffective
methods have a "success" rate of 50%, many continued to be recommended
by word of mouth.

As early as 330 BC, Aristotle prescribed the tying off of the left testicle in
men wishing to have boys.

Some people believe that timing conception according to astrological charts

can influence a baby's sex, though there is no evidence to support this or any
other timing method. A 13th century Chinese conception chart purports to
be able to identify the sex of the baby before birth.
During the 1980s, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories teamed with
the United States Department of Agriculture to develop the first (and only)
successful and repeatable means of separating X- (female) and Y- (male)
chromosome bearing spermatozoa.]. 'Sexed semen' is offered commercially
in cattle by a variety of companies including Cogent (UK) and Sexing
Technologies (USA). In humans the technique is marketed as 'MicroSort',
but is unavailable outside of the USA due to legal restrictions.

Recently, a study published in 2006 indicated that mothers with

toxoplasmosis have a significantly higher sex ratio of boys to girls. This has
been discussed in connection with the manipulation hypothesis of parasites.
Another study found a link between sex and the diet of the mother, but this
may be due to statistical chance, and has yet to be confirmed.

Reasons for sex selection.

Parents frequently prefer their offspring to be of a particular sex for a
variety of reasons. In some cultures, male offspring are desired in order to
inherit property, carry on family name, to provide support for parents in old
age.

Studies have demonstrated that having sisters, as compared to brothers,

can enhance the quality of life of an adult.

Evidence suggests couples in the United Kingdom tend to pick sons and
daughters in roughly even numbers. Most clinics in the United States treat
only those parents who already have a child of the other sex.

Dangers and ethical concerns of sex selection

In addition to the ethical concerns mentioned, issues of demographics
arise in societies where social sex selection is common. A society may
exhibit a widespread bias towards having children of a specific gender,
either due to cultural biases or economic concerns (e.g. male children may
be more employable in the future and thus provide more financial support).
When combined with frequent social sex selection, this bias may produce a
gender imbalance that has undesirable consequences. This phenomenon has
been observed in many nations in the Far East, such as India and China,
where social sex selection has produced unnaturally high male/female ratios
in the population. China's gender imbalance is further increased by the One
Child Policy, although applicable only in most urban populations. In these
nations, a lack of opportunity for many men to marry is believed to be
producing increases in crime, demand for prostitution, mass emigration, and
the selling of brides

Major demographic changes have occurred in China because of sex

selection. Chinese government reports show that the sex ratio for newborns
is 118:100 (boys: girls), higher in rural areas such as Guangdong and Hainan
(130:100) compared to the average of 104:107 in developed countries. It is
believed that the ratio would increase further to the point that, by 2020, men
of marriageable age would be unable to find mates, resulting in large social
problems.

Some nations, such as India, have attempted to curtail these gender

imbalances with criminal statutes. In contrast, bio ethicist Jacob Appel of
New York University has argued that governments should pay couples to
choose to have female children. According to Professor Appel, "if female
babies [were] worth their weight in rupees and yuan, economic and
educational opportunities for girls would soon follow." In contrast, actual
experience in Western cultures provides no evidence for any degree of
gender imbalance from technologies which have long been available and
legal - such as selective abortion or pre implantation embryo testing. When
used for family balancing indications in such countries as the United States,
pre-conceptual sex selection is widely sought without any preferential
selection of males. Thus the right of individual families to determine
whether or not to balance gender of offspring in their families is not and will
not become, in many countries, a demographic issue. Furthermore, in
countries where such demographic issues exist because of strong gender
preferences in a segment of the population, regulatory and legal control of,
without denial of access to, sperm sorting technology can be utilized to
provide individuals with choices while ensuring that equal numbers of boys
and girls are produced for population demographic equality.

Although problems such as rising crime rates may be associated with high
male-female ratios (more males than females), it is not clear that such
problems would arise in connection with low male-female ratios (fewer
males than females). In addition, cultural practices such as polyamory and
polyandry may reduce or eliminate potential problems. Also incentives for
emigration of young singles out of gender imbalanced nations into more
gender balanced nations, has often been seen as another solution to reduce
potential social problems

Legality of sex selection

Sex selection is officially prohibited in China, but the Chinese government
admits that the practice is widespread, especially in rural areas of China
and among lawless groups such as ghettoized migrant workers in cities
(despite denials by the government-sponsored studies)

Social sex selection is illegal in India. To ensure this, prenatal determination

of sex through ultrasound is also illegal in India. These laws are instituted to
combat the prevalent practice of sex-selective abortion. However, these laws
have generally failed to be effective in rural areas and, despite education
efforts, sex-selective abortion continues to be widely practiced there.

Sex selection is legal in most of the world, and it's practiced particularly in
Western countries, but is more limited in Eastern countries, such as India or
China. However, an exception of this is Europe, where the practice of sex-
selection is prohibited (bar the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus). There
is fertility tourism from the United Kingdom to the United States for sex
selection, because pre implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD, a potential
expansion of IVF), which can be used for sex selection, is prohibited in the
UK, except when it is used to screen for genetic diseases, while the laws in
the US are more relaxed in this subject.

Competition also was contected on the same topic of sex selection. T here
was article writing, drawing and speech competition also where held on the
same day. There were around 120 participant took part in the competitions.

Out come of the seminar

The resource persons spoke very convincingly about the topic.

The participants took part in the seminar very actively. The session
was very informative and thought provoking for all of us. The talks
and the power point presentations also were very good.

Sebastian Joseph MA (SW) 1