#26, Unintended Consequences

The photo above is of my unborn nephew.  The technology that makes this picture possible is ultrasound sonography.  Very simply, ultrasound sonography is a process in which high frequency waves are used to see inside the body.  To a regular person, this picture looks like a white blob.  To a trained professional, the picture provides insight to a baby's health and gender.  Early detection of health problems allows doctors a greater chance to treat and cure the babies.  Further, ultrasound sonography does not cause harm to the baby and is painless for the mother.  The technology has positively affected millions of unborn babies.  The intended consequence of this technology is to provide people with better health care.

This technology is also responsible for the deaths of millions of unborn baby girls.

To be specific, it is responsible for the deaths of approximately 80 million unborn girls in Asia.  Today, the population of males in Asia is 160 million more than that of females and that gap continues to widen.  It has become common practice for Asian parents to screen the gender of their unborn child.  Often times, if the baby is discovered to be a girl, the pregnancy is terminated.  Males are perceived to be the more valuable gender whether it be for financial reasons, familial reasons (men often carry on the family name, whereas women do not), or other personal reasons.  An unintended consequence of this technology is the widening gap between the number of men and women in Asia (girls, arguably this is good for you, just like oil you are becoming an increasingly scarce resource and therefore more valuable).

What is another example of an unintended consequence of technology in our world?  Describe the technology.  Explain its intended consequence and an unintended consequence.  Is the unintended consequence good for society?  Defend your position.

Optional: Attack others' claims.

-Teacher lee