The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) announced today its recommendations to the Government on gender selection (see press release). These were produced as the result of a review process lasting for a year, which took into consideration both expert opinion and research on factors related to sex selection including scientific and ethical issues. An HFEA public consultation also formed part of the review input, and found that 80% of people in the UK did not want sex selection techniques to be made available for non-medical reasons. The HFEA report proposes that current policy, which permits sex selection only where it is necessary to avoid the birth of children with serious sex-linked disorders, should continue.
The report further recommends that sex selection involving a technique known as sperm sorting should be regulated; at present this form of gender selection is not regulated in the UK, but the HFEA public consultation found ‘overwhelming support’ for the introduction of regulation. Sperm sorting refers to techniques used to selectively separate male sperm and female sperm (that is, sperm carrying a Y chromosome which would create a male embryo on fertilisation, and those carrying an X chromosome which would create a female embryo) prior to artificial insemination or in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Sperm sorting has variable efficacy, although it does not at any stage involve the creation or loss of human embryos, making it an ethically preferable alternative to pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for some individuals. PGD is already regulated by the HFEA and its use for sex selection is currently confined to avoiding sex-linked genetic diseases such as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Sex selection by means of abortion is illegal in the UK.
Commenting on the recommendations, HFEA Chair Suzi Leather said: “The HFEA has to balance the potential benefit of any technique against the potential harm. We are not persuaded that the likely benefits of permitting sex selection for social reasons are strong enough to outweigh the possible harm that might be done.” -