Call for a ban on gender tests blamed for girls being aborted
A TEST that allows parents to learn the sex of their unborn baby only a few weeks into pregnancy should be banned to stop genderrelated abortions, critics say.
The NHS will roll out the blood test from next month as part of antenatal screening to identify major genetic conditions such as Down’s.
Doctors will also be able to determine the sex of the unborn child but will not share the information with parents.
Private firms, however, are routinely offering Non-Invasive Prenatal Tests (NIPT) to reveal the baby’s gender as early as nine weeks into a pregnancy.
The gender predictor kits are said to guarantee 98 per cent accuracy and can be bought online for as little as £169 without the need to visit a clinic.
Mothers simply send a blood sample for DNA analysis in a laboratory. The test will show if there is any Y-chromosomal DNA, found only in boys. Charities and MPs say the growing popularity of the test is leading to abortions based on a child’s sex, particularly among cultures in which boys are valued more highly.
Naz Shah, Labour’s women and equalities spokesman, said: ‘It is incredibly unethical and morally wrong to exploit NIPT blood tests to screen the sex of a baby and then abort the pregnancy based on that result.
‘NIPT screenings should be used for their intended purpose, to screen for serious health conditions.
‘The Government needs to look into this exploitative practice and enforce appropriate restrictions.’
Parents are currently offered a combined blood and ultrasound test in the first three months of pregnancy to check for abnormalities. Most couples choose to find out their child’s gender at the 18-20 week scan, but by this time they are far less likely to have a termination.
The BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme found ‘thousands’ of women were discussing using NIPT tests to determine sex on an online forum.
The Jeena International charity, which supports women from ethnic minority communities in the UK, said some were forced into abortions because their families did not want another girl.
Founder Rani Bilkhu said: ‘This is “gendercide”, this is sexselection abortion and there are many girls missing as a result.’
Pro-life groups called the test a form of eugenics and warned that highlighting disabilities would lead to more abortions.
Supporters of the test say it sees fewer of the miscarriages associated with the more invasive amniocentesis tests.
Clare Murphy, of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, said: ‘Sex-selective abortion does not occur routinely in the UK, and statistics from the Department of Health do not show an unusual gender imbalance in any ethnic community in this country.’
Pregnant women who believe the myth of ‘eating for two’ put their children at increased risk of type 2 diabetes, a study shows.
Nearly half of mothers-to-be put on too much weight, recent research shows.
Now a survey of 900 women has found a link to children who developed insulin resistance – a key precursor of diabetes – at the age of seven. There was also a link to obesity and high blood pressure, the Chinese University of Hong Kong researchers found.
US guidelines recommend mothers of a healthy weight put on no more than 2st 7lb. But the Royal College of Midwives’ Mandy Forrester says there is no UK equivalent, adding: ‘This highlights the need for guidelines here.’
‘Incredibly unethical’