It is morally permissible for parents to choose the sex of their child.

"Who says choice is morally permissible. If I make a choice to kill someone instead of shaking their hand, is that morally permissible? We have the same burden of proof." That analogy is an improper one. Unless it is already proven that killing is bad, that choice is morally permissible. But since it has been proven that killing is bad, the choice ceases to be permissible. Choice is, by default, morally permissible because people deserve freedom of choice. A restriction of choice is a violation of fundamental liberties, and therefore must be justified. "Here is the evidence that Hitler wanted a master race" That is not what my opponent originally said. What he said was "Hitler believed that choice/preference of race was best." This claim has no evidence to support it. "I disagree and think that analogy is appropriate. An all male master race is the same as an all aryan master race. It is extremely prejudiced and not morally permissible." My opponent has changed the meaning of the analogy. Originally it applied to choosing a child's sex or race, but now it applies to creating a master sex/race? Anyway, it is still inapplicable. Allowing parents to choose the sex of their child is nothing like creating a master race of men. The differences should be obvious. "Apparently, my opponent can not use context clues." My opponent seemed to imply that everything Hitler did was immoral, which is obviously false. For his point to be sound, it must be true that everything Hitler did was immoral, and it is not true. "You couldn't tell that I meant Hitler's belief of a master race is not morally permissible? Way to avoid the main point." What main point? I see no point other than the one I refuted. "Hitler believed that his choice/preference of race was best." And forcing everyone to choose Hitler's race of preference is vastly different from ALLOWING PARENTS TO CHOOSE FOR THEMSELVES. "Like what advantages [do females hold]?" -They can have children. -They are seen by many as 'nicer' than males. -They have more developed immune systems [5], which in crowded cities is the single most important survival trait [6]. The list goes on. See [3], [4]. "[B]oys tend to be the strongest and fittest." Wrong. Females have various advantages, in particular their immune system (see above). "Like what other factors [would parents use to choose a gender]?" I have explained many possible factors in my arguments so far. My opponent has only explained one that I can find: that men do better in athletics. And why would parents care about athletics? "Men are smarter than women according to scientists. (2)" Wrong. (2) is flawed: SATs are not intelligence tests, they are aptitude tests; women tend to underplay their abilities [2]; women are sometimes not as good at left-brained activities, while better at right-brained ones [7], [8]. However, [1] and [2] reference studies showing that men and women are about equal in intelligence according to the best contemporary measurement tools. "Wiser is the same as smarter." This could not be farther from the truth. Wisdom: accumulated philosophic or scientific learning. Intelligence: the skilled use of reason. (http://www.merriam-webster.com...) "Sexier? How can this possibly change based on gender?" Males think that females are sexier. In the case of males being more populous, males will want female children. What (3) really says is that men make more jokes. The author of the article skewed the scientist's study to make it seem like men were funnier. "Longer?" I was referring to the length of the uterus. The female uterus is longer [9]. "Happier?" If men are happier, they will have that slight advantage over women. If not, they won't. "Most parents want their children to fit in." Indeed. But being special is also very important. They are not mutually exclusive. Even if females become rare, there is no reason to believe that they will not fit in. "Why would mothers want their daughters to get raped?" My opponent is leaping to conclusions. And if rape really does become commonplace, why would mothers want rapist sons? A child who gets raped is better than a child who rapes, since there is nothing morally reprehensible about getting raped. (5) (6) (7) speak of population reduction. But for the world to truly be underpopulated, there would have to be fewer than one person per square mile of arable land [6], which is a vast reduction in population [10]. Plus, how do we know we can trust my opponent's sources? I searched Google Scholar for scientific papers on potential future underpopulation, and got no relevant results. However, I found numerous articles about the dangers of overpopulation, notably [18], [11], [16], [17]. Papers found on Google Scholar are far more reliable than those found on the general internet. "I do not see the craziness in the man [in the video]." Regardless of what my opponent sees, if the reader determines that the man is not fully sane, it supports Pro. If not, it supports Con. I leave the choice to the reader. "The man shows how men are better than women, without anyone attempting to refute him." No refutation is necessary, as his arguments are so utterly ridiculous. My opponent's contentions 3 and 4 are unsupported. "Sex selection would put a great burden on children. For example, a father wanting a boy, so he becomes a star quarterback; but the boy is interested in legos instead." A father is just as likely to demand that his son become a star quarterback if he gets the son by chance. If his child turned out female, there would be different expectations (such as becoming star cheerleader). "Sex selection is the first step on a slippery slope to 'designer babies.'" This is, interestingly enough, known as the slippery slope fallacy, and is invalid. [12], [13], [14], [15] "The process of the birth of child is supposed to be beautiful and precious, not like picking a couch out of a catalog." 1. It's not "supposed to be" anything. It is a tool of natural selection. 2. If parents want it to be "beautiful and precious", they may choose to have a child the traditional way. But we should not force all parents to choose the "beautiful and precious" route. 3. There is no evidence that choosing a child's gender in any way inhibits the beauty of childbirth. ======== [1] http://www.trumpuniversity.com... [2] http://www.newsweek.com... [3] http://registeredrep.com... [4] http://peoplerelationships.syl.com... [5] http://www.ctv.ca... [6] Guns, Germs and Steel, winner of the Pulitzer Prize http://en.wikipedia.org... [7] A Whole New Mind http://www.danpink.com... [8] http://www.thirdage.com... [9] http://en.wikipedia.org... [10] http://www.catsg.org... [11] http://www.popline.org... [12] http://www.fallacyfiles.org... [13] http://en.wikipedia.org... [14] http://www.nizkor.org... [15] http://www.jstor.org... [16] http://www.bodhi.net.au... [17] http://db.jhuccp.org... [18] http://books.google.com...