Parents Spend Millions To Have Girls Instead Of Boys

08:28

October 25, 2012

The gender selection industry generates at least $100 million a year, according to Slate magazine. (Flickr/Christopher Lance)

While some expectant parents wait to find out the sex of their baby, and others want to know after a couple of months of ultrasounds, a growing number of Americans are now using medical techniques to choose the gender of their child.

Jasmeet Sidhu writes in Slate magazine that U.S. parents tend to prefer girls over boys, and are using expensive reproductive procedures to make sure they deliver a daughter.

One gender selection technique, known as preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), involves culturing embryos to find out what sex the child will be. In another method, sperm is sorted based on whether it carries an X or Y chromosome.

Slate: Choosing the sex of your baby has become a multimillion-dollar industry

Guest:

Jasmeet Sidhu, writer and filmmaker who wrote about sex-selection in Slate magazine. She tweets @JasmeetSidhu.

This segment aired on October 25, 2012.