A couple from Australia is fighting for the right to sex-selective IVF. They want to have a girl, having lost their only daughter – and have already aborted twin male fetuses conceived using IVF.
According to the Herald Sun, an independent bioethics panel rejected the couple’s request for pre-implantation sex selection in favor of a girl, because, in Australia, sex selection IVF is only allowed to prevent genetic diseases or abnormalities.
The couple, who cannot be identified, already have three boys which they conceived naturally. They also had a daughter who died in infancy, the paper reports, and the woman admits “she has become obsessed with having a daughter and it has become vital to her psychological health.”
Gene Ethics director Bob Phelps feels that allowing the couple to choose the sex of their child could open the floodgates for other couples hoping to do the same.
“I’m sorry they lost their daughter but, in the interests of society as a whole, they should seek some counseling for their grief and look for another way of getting a daughter into their family.” He suggested adopting from overseas, adding, “They sound like good parents and could offer a home to a child who needs one.”
Though not involved with the case, Australian IVF pioneer Bag Kovacs told the Herald Son that he couldn’t understand why the couple should be banned from having a girl.
Jezebel notes that when non-medical sex selection was allowed at the Syndey, Australia IVF clinic, the preference for girls was about 60/40.
The couple’s case is expected go before the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal in March.
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