Developed by Israeli doctors

Israeli doctors are marketing a US$500 test
to determine a baby’s sex only 7 weeks after conception. Until now couples had
to wait 20 weeks for an ultrasound. The new test detects the male Y chromosome
in the mother’s blood.

The obvious problem with making the test
available is that it may encourage women to abort a baby if it is not the
desired sex. Sex selective abortion is a huge problem in India, China and other
Asian countries. One gynaecologist even told the Daily
Mail: “Performing the test at such an early stage opens up an immoral and
unethical choice to couples interested in a baby of a specific sex to abort the
pregnancy and try again.”

However, for Dr Esther Guetta, of the Sheba
Medical Centre, who developed the test, the main ethical problem is not
allowing women access to this information. “If a woman wants and can afford the
test, you could say it would be unethical to prevent her from getting it,” she said.
She has called for a committee of experts to be set up to deal with the ethics
of her invention. ~ Daily
Mail, Nov 1

Michael Cook
prenatal testing
sex selection

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Michael Cook

Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.

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