Opinion
 

Gender selection an affront to God, nature

by Nathan Hoang

Mom always told me she wanted to have a girl. But instead she got me. She was never disappointed that I was never going to be a Natalie Hoang because she knows there are uncontrollable things we all have to accept. Sometimes it rains on the day after you wash your car. Dangerously high temperatures can make a visit to the zoo a hazard. Frigid weather can make a camping trip close to unbearable. Some things just happen.

But in lieu of old fashioned hoping, wishing and praying, a new fertilization technique called preimplantation genetic diagnosis now gives parents the ability to choose the gender of their child. This is a job that is intended for nature, and a choice that was originally, and should remain, God's. This is indeed a foot forward for science, but 5,280 feet backward in a moral decline. 

Gender selection is not only the beginning stages of completely ousting God from our lives and everyday living, but also unknowingly destroys the balance of nature by attempting to control nature itself. The chances of having a girl or boy are 50-50. Now, with $18,480 and a couple of selfish parents, PGD will make the chances of having the preferred sex 100 percent.

In East Asia, namely China, males are held in higher esteem than females, thereby creating a gap between the population of males and females because of female infant mortality and abortions held when the pregnant mother finds out she's carrying a daughter. This creates a social problem within the community. Logically speaking, if every family wants a son to carry on their family name, who is going to provide the daughters the sons need to have children?

Any parent who goes through the decision to give their future child the sex of their choice because of the their own will is selfish. I understand that some parents deeply desire one sex over the other. Everyone knows to what lengths the royalty in the Middle Ages were willing to go so a male heir would continue a bloodline. If today's parents feel that way, they shouldn't turn to unethical science or other equally disturbing procedures, they should turn to orphanages. There are many children waiting to be adopted, both girls and boys, who are without homes or parents and want to feel loved.

The gender of a child isn't like choosing between regular, plus and premium gasoline. The gender of a child is like getting a toy for a quarter out of a machine at a super market. It's a surprise. It's a gift. It's not an expensive procedure to create unnatural happiness.

Hoang, an editorial writer for The Daily Cougar, can be reached via dccampus@mail.uh.edu.