The Israeli Health Ministry has come under fire for authorising social sex selection. Requests will only be granted, according to ministry guidelines, when “there is a real and apparent danger of substantial harm to the mental health of the parents or parent, or of the child destined to be born, if the desired procedure is not performed.” Permission will only be given to couples with four children of the same sex — except in exceptional circumstances.

The Commissioner for Future Generations, Shlomo Shoham, criticised the decision as “another step on the road to severe moral deterioration”. “Selecting the sex of a foetus is equivalent to influencing features of the foetus to be born, and from there the road to eugenics is short,” Mr Shoham said. “The State of Israel must prohibit such a possibility in law.”

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