Introduction:

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. 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. The Greeks
and Romans did not have a consistent theory of how sex was determined.
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. An
18th-century French book called The art of boys suggested an extreme
method of ensuring children of one sex. The author suggests that one
testicle and one ovary are intended for each sex. By removing a testicle or
ovary, children of the other sex can be guaranteed. Recently, a study
published in 2006 indicated that mothers with toxoplasmosis have a
significantly higher sex ratio of boys to girls. 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.
Importance
Sex Prediction or selection is often useful in determining the gender of
the baby, as it prepares the family that will ultimately receive the baby. Also,
technology has greatly advanced that it can determine whether and embryo
has a genetic disease. It helps in prevention, as well as treatment of disease
Methods:
Pre-implantation

- The Ericsson method

- IVF/PGD technique
- Sperm sorting

Post-birth
- Child abandonment
- Infanticide
- Adoption

Ethical Consideration:
Although sex prediction is not rejected by most people, sex selection
is. The application of these techniques to humans creates moral and ethical
concerns in the opinion of some, while the advantages are favored by others.
There are arguments that are for or against sex selection. Those who are for
it have two arguments. The first is that those who say that the right to
reproductive choice has sex selection as a logical extension to this right. The
second one is that much good can be achieved, as it allows prevention of
genetic disorders, and gender balance or distribution in the family. Those
who are against sex selection argue that it is considered inherently wrong or
that bad consequences are likely to outweigh the good. It has similar issues
to those of genetically engineering embryos. Sex selection has the potential
for inherent gender discrimination, inappropriate control over nonessential
characteristics of children such as beauty or other desirable traits,
unnecessary medical burdens and the cost, and the inappropriate or unfair
use of these resources. There are also concerns regarding risk of
psychological harm to the offspring, or increased marital conflict over the
decisions, and the reinforcement of gender bias, which is prevalent in society
as a whole. It also gives rise to issues such as abortion and the like. It is, as
though treading on the domain of God. It picks out the best possible
specimen and disposes the unfavorable ones. It gives rise to discrimination

among those who were made through this technology and those who
werent.

Procedure:
Recently, medical technology made it possible to attempt sex selection
of children before conception. Among those methods that are available for
prepregnancy and prebirth sex selection are prefertilization separation of Xbearing from Y-bearing spermatozoa, with subsequent selection for artificial
insemination or for IVF; preimplantation genetic diagnosis, followed by sex
selection of embryos for transfer; and prenatal genetic diagnosis, followed by
sex-selective abortion. PGD is used with technology such as IVF to identify
genetic disorders, but it also provides information regarding the sex of
embryos. The harshest procedure for sex selection would be the post-birth
selection, which includes Sex-selective infanticide, Sex-selective child
abandonment, and Sex-selective adoption

Conclusion:
Sex selection gives many benefits in the society due to the rapid
advancement of technology. It helps in prevention of diseases and treatment
thereof. It may also be said that it can make the future better. However, care
must be given because some methods that are used are, as what was
mentioned, treading on the domain of God, and its effects can be a
detriment to the society as a whole. Also, some people use it only for
aesthetics, a practice which should be avoided. If used correctly, it could
really benefit the world and alleviate the conditions of those people who
really need it.