Shaping Future Children, Sex Selection, and "Normal" Human Capacities.

Area of Science:

• Bioethics
• Reproductive Technology
• Medical Ethics

Background:

• Parental obligations regarding child health are debated.
• Genetic selection technologies raise ethical questions about desired child traits.
• The concept of a "healthy child" is central to these discussions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the ethical implications of genetic selection for child sex.
• To examine the role of "normal human health" in genetic selection decisions.
• To analyze the contested significance of sex in medicine and social policy.

Main Methods:

• Philosophical analysis of ethical obligations in procreation.
• Examination of arguments surrounding human enhancement and genetic selection.
• Conceptual analysis of "normal human health" in the context of sex differences.

Main Results:

• Abandoning the "healthy child" standard in genetic selection may obligate parents to prefer one sex over another.
• A bifurcated concept of "normal human health" is necessary to avoid sex-based selection preferences.
• Sex selection ethics are intertwined with broader debates on the normative significance of sex.

Conclusions:

• The definition of "normal human health" is critical for navigating the ethics of sex selection.
• Recognizing both male and female infants as potentially healthy is essential for ethical genetic selection.
• Contested intuitions about the significance of sex impact reproductive ethics and policy.