Ethics of sex selection for family balancing. Why balance families?

Guidelines proposed by Pennings in 1996 to allow sex preselection ignore ethical problems, basic aspects of human biology and social behavior, cultural differences in reproductive choice availability, and implementation issues. The proposed guidelines would forbid sex preselection for a first child and in cases where gender balance exists. Sex preselection would only be used if the sex selected were that of the less represented gender in the family except when genetic risk is associated with a specific gender. Pennings did not clarify whether sex preselection would be used after a first child to prevent a gender imbalance or if it would be reserved for correcting gender imbalances after a second birth. The guideline which would forbid sex preselection for a first birth clearly violates the right to freely form a family contained in the UN Declaration of Human Rights. In cases where there is a legal prohibition on family size (China) because of sound population reasons, the guideline which proposes that sex preselection could only occur after two births is not just or practical. Fears about distorted sex ratios ignore the fact that sex ratios can change throughout the life cycle and can not be fixed at birth. Forbidding sex preselection could result in continued infanticide of first-born females. Also, this prohibits couples who freely choose to have only one child from preselecting the sex of that child. It is unreasonable to compel couples to have more than one child in order to have the child of the preferred sex. Limitation of the sex selected to the under-represented sex denies families the right to choose to have additional children of the same sex, which may be a practical necessity in some cases. This guideline also raises unaddressed enforcement questions. The use of reproductive technologies for sex preselection, when not clinically indicated, is a response to a social whim, and there is no indication whether the proposed guidelines would be an option or a limitation for couples. Furthermore, sex preselection would reduce the availability of reproductive technologies for the treatment of infertility.