UK News 12-11-2003 No Choice Over Babies` Sex who: Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority what: Recommends a ban on couples choosing the sex of their babies after "public outrage" where: LONDON when: Yesterday snippet: Selecting the sex of a child is to be banned in the UK, says today`s Guardian, "after a consultation exercise found the public outraged by the idea." Yesterday the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which regulates fertility treatment, announced that it would recommend a ban on sex selection, "except in families where one gender would risk inheriting a serious genetic disorder." After a public consulation indicated that 80 per cent of the public were opposed to gender selection for non-medical reasons, Health Secretary John Reid immediately threw his weight behind the recommendation, confirming that "as long as I am Secretary of State for Health, sex selection will only be permitted on compelling medical grounds." Alan Masterton, from Dundee, who with his wife has had three failed attempts at selecting a girl, slammed the decision. "This quango forces people like ourselves abroad," he told BBC News Online. "This does not stop people from having this procedure done. Make no mistake, all it does is make it more expensive." But Dr David King, the director of Human Genetics Alert, hits back in The Scotsman, questioning the morals of those parents who would seek to discriminate between genders. "Sex selection is sexism at the most profound level - deciding who gets to live," he argues. "If you are not prepared to accept a boy or a girl, you shouldn`t be a parent." [... more]

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