Article: Test Tube Perfection (Herald Sun, Australia)

Maureen — Thu, 21 Jul 2005 08:16:00 GMT

Article: Test tube perfection, Herald Sun, Australia

Quotes from the maladroit Father Bill Uren, rector of the Jesuit Theological College:

He denounced parents who "just want to create children after their own image".
What, exactly, kind of children should I want, then? I pretty much thought children in our "own image" was the natural course of events.

"What right have we as beneficiaries of the birth lottery to rig it for the next generation?" he said.
Many people feel it's not a right, but a responsibility to try to give a better life to the next generation.

"We are commodifying children -- making them into a supermarket product you can just pick off the shelves."
Ha, ha, Father Bill. That commodity line always cracks me up. Having a baby, in case you haven't noticed, involves being pregnant for an extended period of time and a fairly exigent birth process -- not to mention adding the expensive and harrowing experience of IVF into the mix, if that is needed. I don't know where you do your grocery shopping, but the last time I checked, grabbing an item off the supermarket shelf wasn't all that taxing.

He warned that any sex selection would disadvantage females as parents would choose a male as their first child and heir.
If Father B had a) looked at any research on gender preference, and b) looked at preferences for Australia, he would have found a good deal of evidence that non-Asian countries show a strong desire for children of both genders; and that among those seeking to use sex selection, more are hoping to have a girl than a boy.

Gender Selection News : Australia

Article: Test Tube Perfection (Herald Sun, Australia)