"I'm sorry, sir, but it's a girl."

Julie and I discovered today, in a sonogram session, that our third child is going to be a little girl. We were thrilled -- now Matthew and Lucas will have a sister. The sonogram technician told us that you'd be surprised at how many women burst into tears upon hearing the news, and apologize on the spot to their husbands or male partners.

"You are kidding me!" I said, shocked.

"Oh no," the technician replied. "I've had boyfriends go sit right there in that chair when they find out, and put their heads in their hands." Like it's the end of the world.

Julie and I were astonished by this, and appalled. You hear of this kind of thing in China and India, where many people murder female babies in the womb, but I had not really expected that kind of prejudice to linger in our society. The technician indicated that it is a lot more common here than many people might suspect.