By Gudrun Schultz

LONDON, United Kingdom, November 8, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The fertility expert who pioneered technology used to evaluate the genetic traits of embryos has said the science should be available to parents who want to choose the gender of their child.

“I think there are a lot of shibboleths to which we have paid lip service, but when you analyze them they certainly don’t threaten the moral fabric of our society,” Professor Lord Robert Winston told the Sunday Herald.

“And one of them is sex selection. I think if sex selection was freely available in Britain it would change the balance of society hardly at all, if at all. There is really no evidence that it would.”

The statement by Prof. Winston was a reversal of his former position on sex-selection of embryos, the Sunday Herald reported. Six years ago Winston backed a decision by the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to deny a Scottish couple access to embryonic genetic diagnosis for the purpose of selecting a girl. Now, Winston has come out with harsh criticism of the regulatory body.

“I think the HFEA has been incredibly rigid,” Winston said. “They have absolutely refused to consider this issue properly. They’ve not had a proper debate about itâEUR¦the people that they consulted were the sort of people from whom they knew they would get the answer that they wanted to have.

“I don’t think the HFEA does any good. I think it’s a very bad organization.”

John Paul Maytum, a spokesman for the HFEA, defended the organization, saying, “We are a public body and could not get away with consulting a selective group of people. We’d lose public confidence. We are also accountable to parliament, and it would not allow us to do that either.”

“When we ruled that you shouldn’t be allowed to do sex selection for social reasons, we came to that conclusion very much on the back of public opinion. Since then there have been a couple more surveys and it’s always around 80% against sex selection. The public just don’t want it.”

Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD, is used on embryos conceived in a lab through the use of in vitro fertilization techniques as a method of identifying potential genetic disorders. Embryos who show evidence of genetic disease are discarded.

While the technology has been touted as a breakthrough in the development of treatment for disease, opponents say in fact the science is used as a “search and destroy” tool that opens the door to a new eugenics by eliminating any child with the potential for a genetic disorder.

Sex selection through the use of abortion has triggered a developing social crisis in Asian countries, particularly China and India, where the preference for male children has led to a rapidly increasing gap between genders—according to official census data for China in 2000, in some provinces the gap is as high as 30 percent more men then women. The United Nations reported in November 2005 that globally there are now at least 200 million more males than females.

The HFEA banned the use of PGD for sex selection on the grounds that the technique is elaborate and costly, and carries with it a risk to the health of the parent and the child.

The UK Department of Health will announce proposals this month for reforming the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, which does not directly mention sex selection. Health Minister Caroline Flint is believed to want a “clear and specific ban” on gender selection for social reasons.

Read coverage by the Sunday Herald:
https://www.sundayherald.com/58904

See related LifeSiteNews coverage:

McGILL SPEAKER CONDEMNS NEW ‘EUGENICS’
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2002/oct/02101003.html

Screening IVF Babies For Defects Poised to Leap to Whole New Level
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jan/06010606.html

42% of IVF Ova Carry Genetic Abnormalities New Studies Show
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/oct/05101905.html

China Will Not Pursue Criminal Penalties for Sex-Selection Abortion
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jun/06062604.html