Parents In Ireland May Soon Be Able To Choose The Gender Of Their Baby

Parents will be permitted to choose the gender of their baby under proposed new legislation that was put before the Oireachtas Health Committee yesterday.

Sex selection would only be allowed if there was a possibility that the child could be born with a genetic disease, according to the Irish Independent. 

Dr Tony Holohan, chief medical officer for the Department of Health, revealed that the technique called ‘pre-implantation genetic diagnosis’ will be permitted.

He said: “Sex selection would only be permitted where there is a significant risk of a child being born with a serious genetic disease.”

This will be part of the first law regulating fertility treatments, and will allow couples to only implant a healthy embryo in the womb.

Fertility clinics and treatments are not subject to any regulation at the moment, but the proposed legislation will see an overall watchdog being set up, the Assisted Human Regulatory Authority, which was approved in October 2017.

British reality TV star Danielle Lloyd spoke about her decision to consider sex selection when having her next baby when she appeared on Loose Women yesterday. 

‘I love my four boys but I want a baby girl and they’re always asking, “Is our baby sister in your tummy yet?” – @MissDLloyd on having gender selection to have a baby daughter pic.twitter.com/sNkWl3QaWi

— Loose Women (@loosewomen) January 17, 2018

She said: “I think, for me, it’s about family balance as well. I totally understand why there are two sides to the story – some people don’t agree with it, some people do.”

“But for me, I’ve just always wanted that little baby girl.”

She added that, after already having four boys, having a girl would offer a “different experience”. 

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