Review of Ban on IVF Gender Selection
AUSTRALIAN couples may soon be able to choose the gender of their children for purely cultural reasons or just to balance their family.
Australia’s health watchdog is about to begin reviewing its ban on gender selection technology, with many fertility doctors lobbying for the controversial practice to become widely available.
Professor Gab Kovacs – an IVF pioneer – is leading the charge, arguing that, at a cost of between $10,000 and $15,000, only the extremely determined would go for gender selection.
“If I am prepared to pay for it out of my own pocket I can’t understand why that should be forbidden,” he said.
“It might even be in the interests of the child. If a couple so badly want a boy or a girl that they are prepared to go through IVF and gender selection then maybe, if they had the child naturally and it was the wrong gender it may not be looked after as well.”
The use of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is currently only allowed for medical reasons, in cases where parents are carriers of serious genetic diseases that can only be passed to children of one gender.
But a five-year moratorium on the widespread use of gender selection expires this year and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is about to consider opening up the technique so parents can choose which gender they prefer.
The NHMRC confirmed it would review its bans early this year, after it has completed its current review into the Research Involving Human Embryos Act and the Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction Act.
Any legislation introduced by the NHMRC granting social use of the technology would override state legislation.
If the NHMRC instead introduced new guidelines allowing the practice, it would still be outlawed in Victoria but would be available in other states.
This could lead to interstate fertility tourism.
Several leading Sydney IVF doctors plan to make submissions calling for an end to the bans.
Dr Michael Chapman, senior infertility specialist at IVF Australia told The Daily Telegraph his clinics were rarely asked about gender selection but he believed the technology should be made available to prospective parents.
“Very few patients I see ask to choose the sex of their child – less than 5 per cent,” he said.
SOURCE: THE DAILY TELEGRAPH MARCH 13TH 2010
10 Responses to “Review of Ban on IVF Gender Selection”
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Interesting!
If it were legal in Oz I would seriously consider it. Only problem is this type of thing is for the well off! We don’t have they type of money laying around and if we did could we spend it on IVF?
I am glad that it may become legal in Australia but I think there need to be serious restrictions.
Very interesting. I’m sure you will keep us up to date, i wouldn’t have known about this. You are a wealth of knowledge. I guess the ruling would change allowing it in 2011?
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