《中英對照讀新聞》Most would not select their child's sex︰US survey 美國調查：多數人不會選擇孩子的性別

◎張其賢

According to a new nationwide survey, only 8 percent of the Americans said they would choose the sex of their children if given the opportunity, and 74 percent of them were opposed to it. The remaining 18 percent were undecided. The findings was published in the Journal Fertility and Sterility.

根據一項新的全國調查，僅8%的美國人表示，如果有機會，他們會選擇子女的性別，74%受訪者反對這樣做。剩下18%的人表示無法決定。這項發現刊登在「受孕與不孕期刊」上。

Sex selection is currently available through invasive and expensive in-vitro fertilization techniques. However, another technology using sperm selection, which may soon be marketed in the US, should make the selection process much easier and affordable, although less reliable（75 percent chance of successfully choosing a boy and 90 percent chance of choosing a girl）.

選擇（胎兒）性別目前可以透過昂貴的侵入式試管受孕技術做到，不過，有可能近期內在美國上市的另一種使用精子篩選法技術，可望使性別選擇過程容易許多，又讓人負擔得起，雖然它比較不可靠（選擇男孩的成功率是75%，選擇女孩的成功率是90%）。

The technique, currently under investigation for FDA approval, has triggered moral, legal and social concerns. Some fear that sex selection may disrupt the natural sex ratio and could lead to gender stereotyping and discrimination.

目前正在接受食品藥物管理局調查，以取得許可的這項技術，已引發道德、法律和社會方面關切。有些人擔心選擇性別可能打亂自然的性別比例，並導致性別刻板印象化和歧視。

"Our findings show that the technology is unlikely to be used by the majority of Americans and should not have an impact on the natural sex ration," principal author Dr. Tarun Jain, from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago said.

「我們的發現顯示，這項技術不大可能被多數美國人使用，應該不會對自然的性別比例產生影響，」論文的主要作者、芝加哥伊利諾大學醫學院的簡恩博士說。

新聞辭典

disrupt：及物動詞，擾亂。例句：The war disrupted the economy.（戰爭擾亂了經濟。）

gender：名詞，性別。sex指生物上的性別，gender指社會意義上的性別。「性別議題」是 gender issue，sex issue則是「和性有關的議題」。