D
David_Paul
Guest
Telegraph (UK)
James Langton
July 10th, 2005
Is it a girl or a boy? It’s the first question every new mother asks. And the answer can now be given almost from the moment a woman finds out that she is pregnant.
A revolutionary new test launched in the United States this month can tell the sex of an embryo just five weeks after conception. The company behind the test, known as the Baby Gender Mentor, says that it will help couples to decide whether to paint the spare bedroom pink or blue.
But anti-abortion groups fear that the test, in which a single drop of the mother’s blood is tested for traces of her baby’s DNA, could lead to an increase in abortions by making it easier for parents to end a pregnancy if they want a child of a different sex…]
Sex selection is a growing problem in parts of Asia, where a preference for sons is skewing population ratios and leading to Chinese parents killing baby daughters.
Sherry Bonelli, the president of Pregnancystore.com, which holds the exclusive rights to market the test in America, believes that there is no evidence mothers will abort babies because they are the “wrong” sex.
“It is for people who are so excited that they just can’t wait to find out if they are having a boy or a girl,” she said.
“Perhaps people already have a couple of kids and they want to know what colour to paint the bedroom. And even if you really wanted a girl but it turns out to be a boy, it gives you extra time to get over your disappointment.”
telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/07/10/wfoetus10.xml&sSheet=/portal/2005/07/10/ixportal.html
James Langton
July 10th, 2005
Is it a girl or a boy? It’s the first question every new mother asks. And the answer can now be given almost from the moment a woman finds out that she is pregnant.
A revolutionary new test launched in the United States this month can tell the sex of an embryo just five weeks after conception. The company behind the test, known as the Baby Gender Mentor, says that it will help couples to decide whether to paint the spare bedroom pink or blue.
But anti-abortion groups fear that the test, in which a single drop of the mother’s blood is tested for traces of her baby’s DNA, could lead to an increase in abortions by making it easier for parents to end a pregnancy if they want a child of a different sex…]
Sex selection is a growing problem in parts of Asia, where a preference for sons is skewing population ratios and leading to Chinese parents killing baby daughters.
Sherry Bonelli, the president of Pregnancystore.com, which holds the exclusive rights to market the test in America, believes that there is no evidence mothers will abort babies because they are the “wrong” sex.
“It is for people who are so excited that they just can’t wait to find out if they are having a boy or a girl,” she said.
“Perhaps people already have a couple of kids and they want to know what colour to paint the bedroom. And even if you really wanted a girl but it turns out to be a boy, it gives you extra time to get over your disappointment.”
telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/07/10/wfoetus10.xml&sSheet=/portal/2005/07/10/ixportal.html