Issue 1247 - The Courier

Th eCourier
Parents often wonder about
how their child will look and
what physical traits it will inherit;
maybe it will have the
father’s black hair, or the mother’s
blue eyes.
These traits are a random matter
of genetics, but what if you could
choose? What if for a certain sum
of money you could hand pick the
physical traits you wanted your child
to have - would you?
In 2009 a Los Angeles clinic offered
just that, the opportunity to pick the
physical traits of a child by selecting
the embryo that contained the genetic
makeup of the desired physical attributes,
for the small price of $18,000.
This is carried out by PGD (Pre-implantation
genetic diagnosis) where
a cell is tested from an embryo, and
the embryo with the desired physical
traits is put into the mother’s womb to
continue the pregnancy and the rest
are discarded.
This case sparked outrage across the
world, due to its dubious morality.
Dr Kearns, who was one of the scientists
who discovered PGD, spoke out
against this pick and mix approach to
genetics saying “traits are not diseases”
and therefore embryos should not
be screened and picked out because of
them. PGD was invented to stop children
being born with serious genetic
illnesses, such as Parkinson’s disease,
not for whether they have red hair or
not.
Tuesday 6 March 2012
‘Abortion is used as a tool of discrimination’
SOPHIE
HUNTER
However the physical traits of a child
are not the only things some parents
wish to control; they also want to be
able to pick the sex of their child. This
has resulted in a rise of sex-selective
abortions across the world. In the
United Kingdom abortions due to the
sex of the child are illegal but despite
this a recent investigation carried out
by Th e T e l e g r a p has h revealed that
numerous abortion clinics are willing
to do this, despite the legal and moral
implications.
This investigation involved secretly
filming women going to nine clinics
across the whole of the UK to ask for
an abortion based on the sex of their
unborn child. Of the nine clinics they
went to, a third agreed to the abortion:
Calthorpe Clinic in Birmingham,
Pall Mall Medical in Manchester
and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.
At the Calthorpe Clinic, Dr. Raj
Mohan agreed to the abortion, even
though he compared it to “female infanticide”:
with the clinic even falsifying
the paperwork, writing down the
abortion was due to the mother being
too young.
The Health Secretary Andrew Lansley
has said that the “carrying out an
abortion on the grounds of gender
alone is in my view morally repugnant”
and steps are being taken to
stop this from happening any more.
But no matter how many laws and
safeguards are put in place to stop
gender specific abortion, nothing can
stop women hiding the truth from
their doctors to get an abortion based
on gender, a point backed up by Dr
Gillian Lockwood this week.
I believe that if the selection of embryos
to choose physical traits and
sex selected abortions continues then
a whole new set of social issues will
be created.
Firstly a gender imbalance would
occur, as is the case already in China
where there are 120 boys to every 100
girls. Secondly, abortion is now being
used as a tool of discrimination,
mostly against the female sex, as male
children are preferred over girls. This
is a clear show of how in some communities
males are still seen as the
dominant sex, despite the supposed
equality in our society. It is rather
ironic one might say that the choice
to have an abortion and control their
own bodies, which women fought for
in this country and others, is now being
used to discriminate against their
own sex. To stop this discrimination
it would not be enough to create new
laws and regulations, the investigation
has proved these do not work.
We need to educate people against
this trend for designer babies and single
sex abortion and show them that
every child, no matter its hair colour,
eye colour or sex, is a beautiful gift to
be loved.
US Elections: where do you stand?
JACK TORRANCE
GEORGIE MOULE
Tomorrow will see ‘Super Tuesday’,
the biggest day of the Republican
presidential primaries
and possibly the defi nitive point
of the campaign. With one fi fth of
states going to the polls, including
the strategically important Ohio,
the candidates will be desperate
to make their mark. Rick Santorum’s
recent spate of success in
Midwestern states will place Mitt
Romney under severe pressure to
succeed tomorrow. If he fails to
make a strong showing it could be
the beginning of the end, both for
his campaign, and for any chance
of a Republican win in November.
What really surprises me is how
different the mood of the candidates,
the pundits and the American
public is from 2008. The
‘American dream’ that the world
fell in love with seems to have all
but collapsed. However, the mudslinging
isn’t just reserved for
Obama, the Republican’s don’t
have any qualms about attacking
their fellow party members.
This has led to not only a lack of
a credible Republican candidate,
but has left Republican party fractured,
and short of a fi gure to rally
around. Without this, I don’t see
any chance of a Republican President
come November.
ONE IS NOT
BORN...
But becomes a woman.
Illustration: Alicia Knight
GEORGE SANDEMAN
JAMES TITLEY
The Republicans are in trouble.
There is no other way to put it. The
Grand Old Party don’t have a candidate,
and are set to lose what
many commentators and pundits
believe to be a thoroughly winnable
election. Enthusiasm for longtime
frontrunner Mitt Romney has
as much buoyancy as a lead balloon
and this is abundantly clear
in his current inability to seal the
nomination despite having superior
fi nances, campaign infrastructure
and no big names to run
against. The GOP’s ‘Big Guns’ are
sitting this fi ght out and only Obama
benefi ts.
In a recent CBS interview Barrack
Obama made a plea to the American
electorate: “Don’t judge me
against the almighty. Judge me
against the alternative”. Come
November the alternative for
America will be Mitt Romney, Rick
Santorum or Newt Gingrich. All
three are anti-abortion, oppose
same sex marriage and gays in the
army, and wish to repeal universal
healthcare. With only eight months
left Obama is already ahead in the
polls - suggesting that whatever his
faults, Americans are prepared to
give him a second chance over his
rivals.
11.comment
THE NEWS
THAT MADE ME
EMILY
RAE
#4 -Size up my sausage
This little piggy went to market, this
little piggy stayed at home. This little
piggy had roast beef, this little piggy
had none. And this little piggy...got
his own website and 800 Facebook
fans. Not quite as catchy, I admit.
However an unusual German website
hit the news this week showcasing
pictures of pigs that consumers can
vote for slaughter. The pig with the
most votes is then claimed the “winner”;
although I’m not quite sure what
they get apart from their modelling
debut on the website. The consumers
can then choose to purchase sausages
and other meat produce from their
hand-selected piggy.
Despite sounding slightly whacky,
Dennis Buchman, the creator of
Meine Kleine Farm (My Little Farm)
is no Big Bad Wolf. Buchman hopes it
will force consumers to think of the
face behind the meat and the website
initiative is aimed at reducing meat
consumption.
So would it put you off your food if
you had hand selected the animal you
were eating? At least with the pigs on
Meine Kleine Farm, you are promised
they enjoy a happy life on a free-range
farm near Berlin before entering the
“lucky draw”.
This article struck a chord with me
because I have never once eaten red
meat. I always find it a bit embarrassing
admitting this as there is no passionate
vegetarian stance or animal
rights activist principle behind it. I
have a sneaking suspicion that my
‘rents watched a scary “What Really
Goes On In McDonalds Kitchens”
type programme before having kids
and although it was never forced
upon me at home, it’s become a habit.
Friends can never understand why I
go along with this ridiculous ritual. I
guess no matter how much I insist turkey
rashers are a good post-night-out
snack substitute for bacon; they will
always think I’m a tad odd. I admit it
is pretty limiting, especially at BBQs.
Despite normally being scorned as a
“Half Hearted Veggie” this is the one
occasion where I am allowed in the
exclusive VegHead-club, but where
more often than not I get left with a
bread roll.
However now I’m cooking for myself,
I’ve started to think about what
I’m missing out on. Maybe it’s time I
lost my meat virginity once and for all
and embarked on a magnificent meat
feast. When exploring the German
website, I was astonished at not only
how many different camera angles are
apparently essential to showcase a pig,
but also the amount of meat produce
you can get from one animal. It got
me thinking, do I lose my red meat
virginity to a mere Chipolata or do I
go the whole hog with Honey Roasted
Gammon?
Talking of hogs, I just can’t help but
feel uneasy looking at the piggy poses,
especially when the only difference
from one happy piggy pic to the next
is the rather blunt “Slaughtered”. Although
his methods are unorthodox,
I have to say I agree with Buchman’s
meaty principles. By taking the time
to showcase and describe the pigs, he
is encouraging an “eat less meat, show
more respect” way of thinking. I think
for now I’ll stick to Percy Pigs. For
now let’s ignore the fact they contain
gelatine.