A Daily Mail investigation has found that doctors are helping patients to choose the sex of their baby, by sending them abroad for a procedure that is outlawed in the UK.
The Times reported that the Human Fertility and Embryology Authority is “very concerned” at reports that clinics are promoting and facilitating this technique. Hundreds of families are thought to have taken advantage of this loophole in the law.
In the UK preimplantation genetic diagnosis can be used by embryologists to check for hereditary diseases linked to sex, such as haemophilia or Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Sex selection for social reason, using this method is actually not allowed in the UK.
But the investigators found doctors are happy to help patients travel to countries where sex selection is allowed. Clinics in those countries charge up to £14,000 for the purpose.
