HFEA announces sex selection recommendations
12 November 2003
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) today announced recommendations to Government that sex selection techniques involving sperm sorting should be regulated in the UK, and that the current policy of only allowing sex selection to avoid serious sex-linked disorders should continue.
The recommendations are the result of a year-long HFEA review on sex selection which took into account both public and expert opinion on the use of sex selection as well as specially commissioned research on the scientific, technical, social and ethical issues.
The HFEA undertook the review on sex selection at the request of the Minister for Public Health. Part of this review was an HFEA public consultation, funded by the Department of Health, which found that 80% of people in the UK did not want sex selection techniques to be made available for non-medical reasons. There was also overwhelming support for sex selection techniques to be regulated. At the moment some of these techniques, those which involve sperm sorting, are not regulated.
Commenting on the review and recommendations, HFEA Chair Suzi Leather said:
"We have found this a difficult issue. It has taken us over a year to reach conclusions because of their far-reaching nature. But it is clear that most people are against sex selection for social reasons. The HFEA has to balance the potential benefit of any technique against the potential harm. We are not persuaded that the likely benefits of permitting sex selection for social reasons are strong enough to outweigh the possible harm that might be done."
Ends
Notes to editors
- HFEA sex selection report and summary document.
The HFEA was set up in August 1991 as part of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. The HFEA's principal tasks are to license and monitor clinics that carry out in vitro fertilisation (IVF), donor insemination (DI) and human embryo research. The HFEA also regulates the storage of gametes (eggs and sperm) and embryos.
Page last updated: 12 March 2009