1 Centre for Dermatology and Andrology and 2 Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany
3 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Centre for Dermatology and Andrology, University of Giessen, Gaffkystr. 14, D-35385 Giessen, Germany. e-mail: Edgar.Dahl{at}derma.med.uni-giessen.de
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Abstract |
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Key words: sex selection/sperm sorting/gender preferences/sex ratio distortion
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Introduction |
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Still, the main concern is that a freely available service for preconception sex selection may distort the natural sex ratio and lead to a gender imbalance in our society, as has occurred in countries such as India, China and Korea (Benagiano and Bianchi, 1999; Allahbadia, 2002
; Mudur, 2002
; Plafker, 2002
). Even uncompromising advocates of procreative liberty concede that sex ratio imbalances would justify limits on reproductive choice (Robertson, 2001
). However, whether or not a sex ratio imbalance poses a real threat to Western societies is, of course, an empirical question that cannot be answered by intuition, but only by evidence. For a gender imbalance to happen, there must be (i) a strong preference for children of a particular sex, and (ii) a considerable demand for preconception sex selection. To ascertain whether or not these two preconditions are met, the Center for Dermatology and Andrology and the Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy at the University of Giessen have conducted a representative survey on preconception sex selection for non-medical reasons in Germany.
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Methods and results |
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Discussion |
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The results of our survey are consistent with previous findings which support a similar conclusion. For example, in a British survey, conducted at the Center for Family Research of the University of Cambridge, 2359 pregnant women were asked Do you mind what sex your baby is? Response options were prefer a boy; quite like a boy; quite like a girl; prefer a girl; and no preference. 58% of responders said they had no preference for a child of a particular sex; 6% said they would prefer a boy and 6% a girl; 12% would quite like a boy and 19% a girl (Statham et al., 1993).
Perhaps even more instructive than surveys are data published by so-called Gender Clinics. Worldwide, there are about 65 centres that offer some method of sperm sorting followed by intrauterine insemination. According to The London Gender Clinic, within its first 18 months it had been consulted by only 809 couples (Liu and Rose, 1995). Of the 809 couples, 468 were of Indian origin, 259 European, 29 Chinese and the remaining 55 of other ethnic origins. The majority of European couples were seeking sex selection to balance their family, i.e. they already had two or three children of the same sex and wanted to have at least one child of the opposite sex: Our study shows that well over 95% of couples came for this sole purpose. They are predominantly men and women in their mid-30s nearing the end of their reproductive life and having on average 23 children of the same sex (Liu and Rose, 1996
). Similarly, the Gender Clinic of New York City reports that all of the 120 American couples seeking sex selection were doing so for family balancing purposes: They selected girls when they had boys at home and boys when there were only girls (Khatamee et al., 1989
). Likewise, Gametrics Limited in Alzada, Montana, which detailed the collective experience of 65 Gender Clinics says: The overwhelming majority had two or more children of the same sex and desired a child of the opposite sex (Beermink et al., 1993
). And finally, a report of the Genetics & IVF Institute in Fairfax, Virginia, which is currently conducting a clinical trial on the safety and efficacy of MicroSort, states: The majority of couples (90.5%) in our study were seeking gender preselection for family balancing purposes, were in their mid-thirties, had two or three children of the same sex, and desired only one more child (Fugger et al., 1998
).
In summary, the available evidence suggests that a readily available service for preconception sex selection for non-medical reasons will have only a negligible societal impact and is unlikely to cause a severe gender imbalance.
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References |
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Submitted on May 15, 2003; accepted on July 9, 2003.