Rise of custom babies sets off ethics alarms

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/from-sex-selection-to-surrogates-american-ivf-clinics-provide-services-outlawed-elsewhere/2018/12/29/0b596668-03c0-11e9-9122-82e98f91ee6f_story.html?utm_term=.c82f83551216

 

It can be somewhat surprising (and sometimes alarming) to find out what’s been happening in science when you haven’t been paying attention …

 

“[A fertility specialist in Encino] continued offering tests for gender and eye color … at his California clinic and in Mexico. Over the years, as his clientele grew, gender screening was quietly adopted by IVF clinics across the nation as a standard service.

 

“A survey published in March in the Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics found that nearly 73 percent of U.S. fertility clinics offer gender selection. Of those, nearly 84 percent offer it to couples who do not have fertility problems but are considering [in vitro fertilization] solely to control the pregnancy’s outcome.”