Choosing your child's gender

Reading the paper today, I came across a report that said that parents involved in IVF programmes should be able to choose the sex of their child.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4589190a10.html

When I'd stopped laughing (Imagine being able to choose your baby! Ha! Gee, why didn't the doctors give ME that option?), I checked out the poll the same website is running - asking whether IVF parents should be able to choose the gender. At this moment, the "no's" are leading. Interesting. Is the no vote a "no one should be able to choose the sex" or a backlash against those terrible women who resort to IVF when obviously they weren't "meant" to be mothers? Or the other old opinion that I have heard - IVF is playing God and is wrong! So be infertile and shut up about it!

I don't know of anyone, any blogger, any infertile person who is forced to undergo IVF to conceive a child who really cares what sex that hypothetical child might be. Yes, there are parents who are carriers of certain disorders where the gender choice may be important to ensure the health of the baby, and that's fine. But I believe IVF was NEVER about designer babies, but about helping those who couldn't conceive to at least have a chance. And the ignorance around the whole subject really annoys me. Or maybe I am just a little bit fragile and precious this week? Feel free to tell me if I am.

Anyway, while I am on the subject - I was reading an article in a woman's magazine about a certain celebrity who had IVF treatment. It annoys me intensely when they say "the embryo was implanted into her uterus". Umm no. The embryo is injected into the uterus with the hope that it will attach itself and become a baby. And I wish women's magazines would also get it right - you are NOT pregnant at that stage, and you cannot be confirmed pregnant until 2 weeks have passed and you have a positive pregnancy test.

Right, rant over. In other news, my mother is recovering well from her surgery, though tired and sore. I've left her a pile of DVDs and books to keep her occupied while she recuperates. It was a nice weekend, managed to fit in a 12km walk which actually was pretty good, despite some very amusing policemen who thought that driving alongside me and telling me they were going to book me for speeding was a hilarious thing to do! Otherwise, our last 10km race is this Sunday and then it's the countdown to the first half marathon on July 13th. I'm just a little apprehensive about that - 21km is an awfully long way!