If anything confirms the view that some parents have of children as consumer items, it's the campaign by a few parents to be allowed to choose their child's sex. They seem to believe that a girl is more valuable than a boy, or vice versa.

One mother wants a girl because she says she has no female relatives. Yet this mother is only serving her own needs. If the purpose of having a child is to have a female relative with which to bond, that would put an unbearable pressure on the daughter. Say that they don't get along, as can happen. What does the mother do then, go back to the fertility bank and buy another daughter?

Children are children, no matter what their gender. All children are equally valuable. Being a parent has little to do with personal gratification, and more to do with wanting to contribute to society.

Being a parent is an act of sacrifice, not an act of selfishness.