In more proof that the rate of change in the world of technology and science is out-stripping our ability to work through the ethical dilemmas, here’s a bit from an article that is appearing in the NY Times today:

“If people want to choose their baby’s sex before pregnancy, should doctors help?

Some parents would love the chance to decide, while others wouldn’t dream of meddling with nature. The medical world is also divided. Professional groups say sex selection is allowable in certain situations, but differ as to which ones. Meanwhile, it’s not illegal, and some doctors are already cashing in on the demand.”

As I recall, the Episcopal Church has adopted a position that states that terminating a pregnancy as a way of choosing the gender of a child is a sin. But we’ve not taken or thought about the moral implications of altering the methods of conception to achieve the same end…

As a parish priest I’ve certainly known lots of couples that decided to have another child as a way having the desired son or daughter that they’ve yet to have. Sometimes the natural methods work, sometimes they don’t. Is having additional children a better way to get a gender diversity in ones offspring than it would be to determine from the “get-go” what the child’s gender was going to be?

At any rate – here’s another moral conundrum to ponder.

Read the rest here: Girl or Boy? As Fertility Technology Advances, So Does an Ethical Debate – New York Times