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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 14, 1998)
Determining sex of children debated Ethicists, parents split on sperm-sorting • rAIKrAX, Va. (AP) - Monique Collins really wanted a baby girl The 33-year-old mother hoped her third child would turn out to be a little sister for her two bouncing baby sons. But Collins didn’t just wait around for foe inevitable. She went to a group of fertility researchers who say they have found a way to segregate sperm cells that produce boys from those that pro duce giris. The result was little Jessica Collins, who just turned 2. “That Is what technology is here for today, so we can make these choices,” Collins said Wednesday. ‘It just goes to show how much she’s loved, that mommy and daddy went to a lot of effort to have her.” Some scientists and ethicists are unconvinced and worried about the moral and medical implications of fid dling with the practice of artificial insemination. The Rev. Philip Keane, a medical ethics specialist at St Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, said using technology to choose the gender of a child without a medical reason is immoral “More and more, we’re beginning to construe our children as products to be planned rather thaoas mysteries to be held in awe and wonder,” Keane said. “The more you technologize the process, foe more you lose the radical and mysterious dignity of the child.” The debate stems from a study in the September issue of the journal Human Reproduction, which reported that researchers have found a technique to separate sperm cells that carry foe Y chromosome - which produces males - from those that carry the female-pro ducing X chromosome. Researchers were able to produce samples in which 85 percent of the sperm cells had anX chromosome. If they targetedY-bearing sperm, the result reportedly was a sperm sample in which 65 percent of the cells contained a Y chromosome. In human trials, foe institute report ed that 29 women who wanted to have girls became pregnant. So far, nine of those women have given birth to 11 healthy baby girls, including two sets of twins, foe institute said. The oldest girt is 2Vi years old. Seven of the women had miscar riages and one of foe women still preg nant is carrying a boy, said Dr Edward Fugger, foe lead researcher. Results of a study of couples wanting boys were not as successfiil. Exact results will be released later. The results of the human trials - which included Collins - were met with skepticism by some scientists, who said «-—— More and more, we ’re beginning to construe our children as products to be planned rather than as mysteries to be held in awe and wonder” Rev. Philip Keane medical ethics specialist the data from the Burfax institute was not conclusive. Dr. Jamie Grifo, director of repro ductive endocrinology at New York University Medical School, is appre hensive about the way the institute is using the sperm-sorting method. ^ Grifo, who has been using a differ ent technique to determine the gender of an embryo since 1992, said NYU applies the technology only to prevent gender-based diseases such as hemo philia and Duchenne muscular dystro phy, which afflict miry males. “They’re doing very important research, but itlsamatter of what they’re using it for that worries me,” Grifo said. “I don’t think we should be doing sex setectkm.” The technique involves staining sperm cells’ DNA with a fluorescent dye and then shining laser light mi the cells to make die dye glow. The amount of fluorescent light produced indicates theamount of DNA present in each cell, Y-chromosome spermcells contain about 2.8 percent less genetic material. Finger was unapologetic about giv ing families the option of choosing their child's gender. “It tends to balance sex ratios in families,” Fugger said. “There should n’t be an ethical issue with skewing ratios cr anything like that” Still, Dr. Robert Stillman, medical director of Shady Grove Fertility Centers, in Washington, D.C., said die institute’s research sample is too small to declare success. “It’s really a series of anecdotes,” said Stillman, a board member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. “A bigger study might put this in the wastebasket where many other attempts at sex selection have gone.” RHA members debate residence hall funding RHA from page 1 “I think we have an obligation to make this event bigger and better than it has been before,” he said. Kotil said the individual Harper Schramm-Smith residence halls are also being asked to pitch in to help defray the cost of the event The com plex association will donate $750. RHA also tabled a $330 request from Cather-Pound residence halls to allow 40 Cather and Pound hall resi dents to pay $15 instead of the full $28.25 to play paintball at an upcom ing hall retreat The senate tabled the request until finding out how much the Cather- Pound residence halls will donate. With funding requests at its last two meetings, RHA needs to keep track foe amount of money allocated, Speaker of the Senate Larry Willis said. f Willis proposed a resolution that would make it easier for RHA to keep track of allocated funds halls don’t use. ^ The resolution, which was tabled because senators said it was not clear, stated that RHA money should be used after funds from other sources have been depleted. Wallace said if RHA and a hall each contributed $150 for an event, but only $200 was used, die remain ing $100 should be returned to RHA. The resolution also would require an expense record to be turned in within two weeks of the event. In other RHA news: ■ Wallace announced that Residence Hall Week kicks off Wednesday and goes until next Tuesday. The week includes such things as game shows, a bowling trip and a personal safety course. ■ The senate also passed a reso lution stating proposals seeking RHA funds must include an itemized budget and list of incoming funds and their source. Tourists flock to Canadiarircrash site PEGGY’S COVE, Nova Scotia (AP) -The tourists arrive in Peggy’s Cove by the busload, cameras in hand, to climb on the rocks along the coast and snap pictures of what locals claim is the most pho tographed lighthouse in all of Canada. But the deaths of 229 people aboard Swissair Flight 111 have cast a pall over the picturesque fish ing village. And 11 days after die plane crashed into the Atlantic 5 miles off the coast, life here has only started returning to normal. Alongside die tourists are vic tims’ relatives who came here to mourn. Dozens of police and mili tary personnel still search for remains and investigate the cause of the crash. Most of the tourists had planned to come here months before the Geneva-bound MD-11 plunged into the sea on Sept. 2 after taking off from New York. Some visitors, like Carol Ambrozy, 59, of Athol, Mass., had considered skipping this part of their Nova Scotia tour after the dis aster. “Your first instinct is to avoid it, and that's not right,” she said, right ing tears. “There’s a need for people to acknowledge what happened and to pay their respects.” In the days after the crash, the tiny town, accessible only by a road . ■ ■ -I— ' ■■■ .. .. There s a need for people to acknowledge what happened and to pay their respects.” ■ , Carol Ambrozy Peggy’s Cove visitor off a coastal highway, was closed off to tourists. The locals had to prove residency to get to their seaside cot tages. On Tuesday, the town was reopened, and more and more peo ple have been arriving. Business is usually booming this time of year, said Diane Waters, the hostess at the Sou’Wester, a local restaurant and gift shop with a water view from nearly every table. But on Saturday, only five tour buses stopped in, less than half of what’s typical for September. “Slowly; it’s getting back to nor mal,” she said Sunday as she rang up customers’ breakfast bills. “It’s going to take a while, but we’ll get back.” The signs of the crash are still everywhere. At the base of the light house is a memorial to the victims: teddy bears, Bibles, flowers and notes reading “God be with you.” Meanwhile, Swissair confirmed reports Sunday that the plane was carrying a locked box containing possibly millions of dollars in cur rency and gold. The airline, which frequently transports money in and out of Geneva, would not give a dol lar figure or say to whom it belonged or where it was going. Out at sea, divers searched for human remains from U.S. and Canadian boats, and a salvage ves sel prepared to hoist pieces.-of wreckage from 180-foot depths. Many of the tourists said they felt a connection to the crash by being in Peggy’s Cove. Mauro Cusce, 70, of Yorktown, Va., said prayers and sang “Amazing Grace” as he and 40 oth ers pulled into Peggy’s Cove on their tour bus. The place mats and refrigerator magnets he bought from the Sou’Wester on Sunday “have mean ing now, rather than (being) just'a trinket.” ; . • Qt^Lsk Where lifetime relationships begin. Exceptional selection of engagement and wedding rings, extraordinary values and passionate service. For a complimentary Engagement Package, call L800.642.GIFT " , *- **«. •• ~~ • ’ *■' ■ . - • «:v • • ■ r r :-r . ■ - ' ‘ . . -V. ' ' ■ • ‘ : . ’ . • I