Canada considering ban on some forms of preimplantation sex selection.(Excludes DX of Sex-Linked Disorders)

WILMINGTON, DEL. -- The Canadian Parliament is considering a ban on nearly all forms of preimplantation sex selection, a move that alarms some reproductive health experts in both Canada and the United States.

The bill in question, currently known as the Assisted Human Reproduction Act, is under consideration by the Canadian House of Commons. The bill states that no person may, "for the purpose of creating a human being, perform any procedure or provide, prescribe or administer any thing that would ensure or increase the probability that an embryo will be of a particular sex, or that would identify the sex of an in vitro embryo, except to prevent, diagnose or treat a sex-linked disorder or disease."

The ban is being proposed even though there is no evidence of a bias toward one particular gender, noted Bernard Dickens, Ph.D., professor of health law and policy at the University of Toronto. "The Canadian Royal Commission did a survey, and the evidence showed a strong preference for equal numbers of boys and girls in the family," he said at the annual meeting of the American Society of Law, Medicine, and Ethics.

Dr. David Adamson, a member of the executive committee of the American Society for ...