Son Preference, Sex Selection, and the “New” New Reproductive Technologies

Abstract

Throughout recorded history, humans have tried to influence the sex of their offspring, through pregnancy injunctions, infanticide, and infant/child neglect. Reproductive technologies developed in the late 20th century allow determination of the sex of the offspring during pregnancy, making "sex selection" through abortion possible. Especially in parts of East and South Asia, sex selection against female fetuses has had dramatic consequences for male/female sex ratios. However, "newer" new reproductive technologies, such as prenatal genetic diagnosis and DNA-weighted semen selection, can now be applied for sex selection; eventually, the latter technology may become easily accessible as a noninvasive method. The prospects of these new technologies for sex selection must be considered in the light of cultural values surrounding son preference / daughter discrimination in many parts of the world, most notably Asia, as well as preferences for a "gender-balanced" family in much of the West. The ethical issues surrounding these technologies, such as the right to life and the equal treatment of female children, are potentially profound, but legislating the appropriate use of these "newest" new reproductive technologies will be difficult.

Selective Reproductive Technologies

“…Across the globe, the expanding use of obstetrical ultrasonography in combination with induced abortion has enabled prospective parents to select against fetuses of a given sex. Although parents in some societies strive to attain "balanced" families with an equal number of male and female children (van Balen & Inhorn 2003, Bhatia 2010, in practice, when sex selection is performed, the preference is nearly always for sons (Miller 2001, Patel 2007. In some countries, therefore-such as in China, India, and Vietnam-boys now significantly outnumber girls.…”

“…In some countries, PGD alongside the microsorting of sperm are offered as sex-selection techniques. Costly as they are, these techniques have been marketed mostly to more affluent couples as a means to avoid having to abort a fetus of the "wrong" sex because embryos of the preferred sex are created (in the case of microsorting) or selected (through PGD) in vitro prior to implantation (van Balen & Inhorn 2003, Bhatia 2010.…”

Introduction: Gender and Reproductive Technologies in East Asia

“…Called "Osmagic," it has stabilized through alliances with prestigious physicians, a patent, English-language publications, and a "kit" format. However, sperm separation is likely to soon be replaced by prenatal genetic diagnosis and DNA-weighted semen selection, and the latter may become an easily accessible noninvasive method (van Balen and Inhorn 2003). In contrast, most research on sex selection in Asia and East Asia focuses on son preference and how this has affected sex ratios (for an overview, see van Balen and Inhorn 2003).…”

A population-based study on correlates of abortion in India (1990-2006)

“…[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Several previous studies documented that son preference is an important factor influencing the practice of abortion and that son preferring women who do not want daughter tend to terminate their pregnancies through induced abortion. [11][12][13] In a strong son preferring society, if a woman of reproductive age has a strong son preference, she may seek to become pregnant until she achieves her desired number of sons and when she has enough sons, she may use induced abortion to stop having more children. 11,[13][14][15] In recent decades contraception and induced abortion have been widely used as a means for women to achieve their desired number of children and for birth timing.…”

“…[11][12][13] In a strong son preferring society, if a woman of reproductive age has a strong son preference, she may seek to become pregnant until she achieves her desired number of sons and when she has enough sons, she may use induced abortion to stop having more children. 11,[13][14][15] In recent decades contraception and induced abortion have been widely used as a means for women to achieve their desired number of children and for birth timing. 16 Hence, there is a need to identify the important factors responsible for abortion in India.…”