CGS-authored
HAVE YOU EVER gazed in pity at a couple with three sons? Do you shoot sympathetic glances at families with four daughters? For the Government would have us believe that these are unbalanced families staggering under the weight of biological misfortune.
That is the only conclusion one can draw from the use of the phrase _family balancing_ to describe sex selection. The use of the word _balance_ is deliberate. It slips more easily off the tongue than _sex selection_, which has an unfortunate eugenic whiff about it. It is hard to argue against _balance_ without seeming unreasonable. And unreasonable is exactly what the Government wishes us to think of those who oppose family balancing.
Although sex selection for non-medical reasons was banned only two years ago, the Government now wishes to overhaul the legislation. It is floating the idea that families with a certain number of children of one gender should be allowed to select the sex of further offspring. How many children are required for parents to qualify for this privilege? The magic number is undecided. Are two daughters...
That is the only conclusion one can draw from the use of the phrase _family balancing_ to describe sex selection. The use of the word _balance_ is deliberate. It slips more easily off the tongue than _sex selection_, which has an unfortunate eugenic whiff about it. It is hard to argue against _balance_ without seeming unreasonable. And unreasonable is exactly what the Government wishes us to think of those who oppose family balancing.
Although sex selection for non-medical reasons was banned only two years ago, the Government now wishes to overhaul the legislation. It is floating the idea that families with a certain number of children of one gender should be allowed to select the sex of further offspring. How many children are required for parents to qualify for this privilege? The magic number is undecided. Are two daughters...