THINK OF THE CHILDREN: SEX SELECTION AND CHILD WELFARE

This column considers the phenomenon of social sex selection and whether its legal prohibition can be justified in Australasia. It looks at whether the liberal autonomy framework is an adequate ethical basis for assessing sex selection and whether sex selection may raise ethical concerns about the nature of parenting and the welfare .of future children in the Australasian context. It argues that with sex selection comes the implicit instrumentalisation and commodification of children, which both stem from and encourage attitudes contrary to those underpinning the virtues required of parents. It concludes that in lieu of robust arguments in favour of sex selection and in light of the probable (or at least plausible) negative impact on the nature of parenting and the welfare of future children, the legal prohibition on social sex selection should be maintained in Australasia.