NPR discusses sex selection
Posted by Parita Shah December 22, 2006
Biopolitical Times
It seems that sex selection makes its way into headlines as frequently as stem cell research nowadays. In many countries, particularly in Asia, the issue is in the political forefront. In the US it makes it as far as the media but still remains on the backburner in the policy and political worlds. Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD), one of the technologies used to perform sex selection is offered widely in the US. For now, there are only guidelines set by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) for non-medical uses of PGD, though clinics around the country are allowing parents to choose the sex of their child anyway. The stories about Indian immigrants in the US taking advantage of this troubling technology are particularly interesting. Check out what Sujatha Jesudason (CGS program director) has to say about this on an "All Things Considered" series on NPR.
Related: In India this week, a debate was underway about what impact sex selection has had on the country's female population.