In the framework of America, many people have always fought for their right to choose. The constitution protects and at the same time controversially denies certain rights to our citizens, depending on which judge you get. Landmark Supreme Court cases have been based on the right to choose. Major legislative decisions have been based on the right to choose. Educational institutions instill in college students the freedom to choose. What happens when that freedom of choice loses boundaries and the freedom becomes an evasive act though? Freedom of choice can be good for a society, but it is detrimental when societal laws no longer uphold moral standards. You choose what clothes to wear, what cars to drive, where to live, and where to work. That is your freedom. You choose what friends to have, who to marry and what you want to do with your life. That is your freedom. Where does this freedom of choice stop though?

There is a new procedure called Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) that allows parents to choose the gender of their child prior to conception. PGD was originally created, according to news sources, to test embryos for defective chromosomes that could cause disease. The idea was to give potential parents an opportunity to have healthy babies. This was the original intent of the procedure. It was also discovered, however, that PGD could equally be used to screen embryos for gender. This is where the debate began. When people discovered they could use the procedure to determine the gender of their children, they began to get the procedure not for the health implications, but as a means of controlling nature. Many refer to it as “playing God.”

There is a fertility clinic that is allowing potential parents to utilize PGD for gender selection now, even though that was not the original intent of it. In keeping with the American way, there is a tremendous price tag on this procedure…$18,000. The process scares some “would be buyers” away because it requires invetro fertilization (IVF) whether the individual is fertile or not. PGD has a nearly 100 percent success rate. Would you choose the gender of your child if you had the financial resources and the opportunity? According to an interview with ABC news, Dr. Jeffrey Steinberg’s Fertility Institute has performed PGD procedures on nearly 2000 couples. In his own words, “eighty five to ninety percent of those couples have done it simply for gender selection.” Steinberg also boasts 940 babies have been born using PGD. Should couples have the right to choose gender? Where will it stop?

It amazes me this hasn’t been a hot button item for the “evangelical” talking heads! They can talk about supporting a president, war from their pulpits and prosperity but lack the moral courage to approach the issue of gender selection? Why aren’t legislative bodies concerned with the implications from this procedure? When I was a kid, one of the biggest insults that could come from another person was to be called a “test tube baby,” but many children of today literally are “test tube” and “petri dish” babies. How confusing is it to explain to your child that he was birthed by his grandmother but comes from his parents? How interesting is it to explain to your child they were “made to order” like a Burger King Hamburger. I can already see the advertisement:

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Pretty soon, we are going to end up with genetic grocery stores where a couple can choose to have a White baby with African American hair, Asian eyes and a Spanish accent! Where will it stop?

I think one of the pioneers of the procedure sums it up best. Dr. Mark Hughes, Director of Genesis Genetics Institute in Detroit stated, “I went into science and into medicine to diagnose and treat, and hopefully cure disease. And the last time I checked, your gender wasn’t a disease.” According to Kathy Hudson, Director of Genetics and Public Policy Institute in Washington D.C.,”About 40 percent of Americans approve of using genetic testing of embryos to pick the sex of their future child when it’s not related to medical conditions.” Maybe the “mad scientists” aren’t too far from reality. Frankenstein won’t have a block head and two left feet though, it will be that beautifully picked out daughter with Hallie Berry’s beauty, Angelina Jolie’s lips, Lucy Lui’s eyes, Sarah Jessica Parker’s style and Jennifer Lopez’s hips!