RACISM AND SEXISM IN MEDICALLY ASSISTED CONCEPTION

Despite legislation and public education, racism and sexism are alive and well. Though pre-conceptive gender selection may enhance procreati ve liberty, this technology presents two disturbing questions. First, does sex selection represent underlying parental sexism? Second, by pe rforming gender selection, do medical professionals perpetuate sexism? It will be maintained that pre-conceptive sex selection is sexist as it reflects parental anticipation of stereotypical gender based behavi or. Perhaps even more incriminating, sex selection forces parents to p refer one sex over another, to place a value on gender. This emphasis on sex conflicts with societal goals which urge, and often legally req uire, individuals to ignore gender. We will assert that preconceptive gender selection exemplifies sexism in its purest most blatant form as prior to conception, before parents can possibly know anything about their child, gender dominates the calculus of a child's worth. We will also emphasize that physicians, by facilitating sex selection, legiti mize the motivations of their patients and provide defacto support of sexism. In a similar vein, arguments against pre-conceptive race selec tion will be made.