Adam Shinar Harvard Law School

Seminar TopicThe New Population Control 
The idea of population control is not new. One child laws in China, involuntary sterilizations in India, which reached their peak in the 1970's, and the eugenic project in the U.S., popular in the beginning of the 20th century, have all symbolized the coercive role the state plays in our reproductive choices. The new population control, however, presents a new paradigm for thinking about these issues – a move from state regulation to private choices. Though more subtle, these private choices have a potentially pervasive impact on society by changing the makeup of the general population. As sex selection technology improves and becomes more accessible, either through presorting sperm or the availability of abortions, more and more people are choosing not only whether to have children, but what kind of children to have. This trend calls for thinking on two levels. First, is sex selection morally problematic? Is it merely an issue of exercising one's autonomy or are there larger issues at stake here? Second, if sex selection is problematic, either because of moral or policy considerations, what is the best way to address this issue? Would it be proper for the state to re-intervene, or is this intervention similar to the past interventions which we usually find morally troubling?