Baby gender test- campaigners say : 'Don't play God'

carmelina · Post by **carmelina** » Fri May 04, 2007 4:14 pm

CAMPAIGNERS last night warned couples “not to play God” with a revolutionary home test that reveals an unborn baby’s sex at six weeks.

They fear the £189 kit will create a massive leap in abortions if would-be parents are not having the gender they want.

Michaela Aston, spokeswoman for the charity LIFE, said: “This test is very dangerous. It could lead to babies being aborted simply for being the ‘wrong’ sex.”

And Julia Millington, of the Prolife Alliance, said: “There is a real risk that some people would choose to abort babies of a certain gender.”

The earliest couples had previously known the gender of their baby was at the 20-week scan — four weeks before the legal limit for an abortion.

But some health authorities have already stopped revealing that information for fear of “wrong-sex” terminations.

The Pink or Blue Early Test Kit, launched on the internet this week by DNA Worldwide, is claimed to be 98 per cent reliable.

Mums-to-be prick a finger to give a small blood sample. They put this on a filter paper and send it to a lab for testing.

Lab technicians determine the sex by looking for the Y chromosome found in males in three tests. Each works because an unborn baby’s DNA is present in the mother for six weeks.

Wrong-sex abortions are more common in some ethnic minorities — with boys being more highly prized than girls.

The North West London NHS Trust is one of the authorities to have banned revealing gender information from scans.

Britain has one of the highest abortion rates in Europe, with more than 185,000 a year. More than 80 per cent are performed at under 13 weeks.

Prolife Alliance’s Ms Millington added: “We have already reached an alarming situation where hospitals in some parts of the UK will no longer disclose the gender of an unborn child.

“That hospitals adopt this policy shows it is already a real problem. Abortion for gender does not fall within the terms of UK abortion law.”

David Nicholson, director of DNA Worldwide — based in Cranleigh, Surrey and the British arm of US company Consumer Genetics Inc — said: “This test is based on the science of foetal DNA in the bloodstream.

“Parents are excited by the pregnancy and want to know the sex of their baby. A lot even build an extra room or redecorate one for the baby — and they don’t want to wait until their 20-week scan to find the sex.”

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Mandy · Post by **Mandy** » Fri May 04, 2007 4:28 pm

There is perceived to be great financial or social pressure in Asia to have a male child. This kit can only make things worse.

Lostinthestates · Post by **Lostinthestates** » Fri May 04, 2007 5:27 pm

GG_Fan wrote:There is perceived to be great financial or social pressure in Asia to have a male child. This kit can only make things worse.

True true! I have heard though they are running out of women in china as parents only want boys! I guess this would make things even worse?!

Mandy · Post by **Mandy** » Fri May 04, 2007 5:53 pm

Lostinthestates wrote:I have heard though they are running out of women in china as parents only want boys! I guess this would make things even worse?!

The women will get their revenge one day .. They can have a "hareem" of men .. and decide to have a child by a recently announced method of using stem cells .. i.e. without needing a man !!

Lostinthestates · Post by **Lostinthestates** » Fri May 04, 2007 6:33 pm

GG_Fan wrote:
Lostinthestates wrote:I have heard though they are running out of women in china as parents only want boys! I guess this would make things even worse?!
The women will get their revenge one day .. They can have a "hareem" of men .. and decide to have a child by a recently announced method of using stem cells .. i.e. without needing a man !!

That is funny

6ULDV8 · Post by **6ULDV8** » Fri May 04, 2007 6:42 pm

@ GG FAN...
Children by stemcell... no men involved...
Your perfect world?

===========================

Home testing is not 100% fool proof.
Never has been, never will be.

The percentage of false positives & false negatives done at home for any kind of 'home test' be it drugs, pregnancies & others is huge.

Hospital tests at 6 weeks can hardly tell the true sex of the child & that's with qualified staff, a fully functional lab & rather large needles taking fluids from deep within.

Trust a home test.. not bloody likely.

Mandy · Post by **Mandy** » Fri May 04, 2007 7:10 pm

Most tests aren't reliable .. including for Down's .. and it is tragic when a parent when told child likely to have Down's, but turns out they don't.

p.s. I am all for 50-50 world of men & women ..

nekokate · Post by **nekokate** » Fri May 04, 2007 8:10 pm

GG_Fan wrote:There is perceived to be great financial or social pressure in Asia to have a male child. This kit can only make things worse.

Except most people in Asia would have to sell their souls to afford this test.

Mandy · Post by **Mandy** » Fri May 04, 2007 8:18 pm

nekokate wrote:Except most people in Asia would have to sell their souls to afford this test.

They will knock out a cheap copy of the kit without a problem. Problem with patents is you need to disclose exactly how you did something.