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Test Reveals Baby's Gender Earlier Than Ever
Product Creates Ethical Controversy
UPDATED: 3:38 pm EDT June 29,
2005
BOSTON -- It's the question millions of expectant moms and dads want an answer to: Will it be a boy or a girl?
A Massachusetts company has created a test it claims can accurately predict a baby's gender earlier than ever before. It's sparking serious debate over sex selection and its potential effect on society, reported WCVB-TV in Boston.
In the life-altering event of childbirth, learning the sex of the baby is a matter of personal choice.
Between one-half and three-quarters of all expectant parents now want to learn the sex of their baby before delivery, and now, pregnant moms can know before they're even showing with a home gender test.The Baby Gender Mentor claims it can tell with 99.9 percent accuracy if it's a boy or a girl as early as five weeks into a pregnancy -- much sooner than an ultrasound at 16 weeks.The finger prick blood test is administered by the expectant mom in her home and sent to Acu-Gen Biolab in Lowell, Mass., where a DNA test of fetal cells within the blood determines whether it contains the male Y chromosome.Within 48 hours, parents will know whether to paint the nursery pink or blue. But there are concerns the test will be used for more than choosing the color of the nursery."Somebody who really wants a boy or a girl might include such information in their decision as to whether to carry the pregnancy or to terminate it," said Dr. Henry Lerner, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Newton, Mass."It's purely to find out the sex of the child, and that's a big concern in my mind because what's the disease? The disease in this case is having one sex or another," said Dr. Michael Grodin, a Boston University bioethicist.While the gender test is controversial, doctors hope it can lead the way toward testing fetal DNA for chromosomal abnormalities such as Down's syndrome without invasive and potentially dangerous procedures currently being used.
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Video: Gender Test Creates Controversy
Health Library: Pregnancy & ChildbirthBetween one-half and three-quarters of all expectant parents now want to learn the sex of their baby before delivery, and now, pregnant moms can know before they're even showing with a home gender test.The Baby Gender Mentor claims it can tell with 99.9 percent accuracy if it's a boy or a girl as early as five weeks into a pregnancy -- much sooner than an ultrasound at 16 weeks.The finger prick blood test is administered by the expectant mom in her home and sent to Acu-Gen Biolab in Lowell, Mass., where a DNA test of fetal cells within the blood determines whether it contains the male Y chromosome.Within 48 hours, parents will know whether to paint the nursery pink or blue. But there are concerns the test will be used for more than choosing the color of the nursery."Somebody who really wants a boy or a girl might include such information in their decision as to whether to carry the pregnancy or to terminate it," said Dr. Henry Lerner, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Newton, Mass."It's purely to find out the sex of the child, and that's a big concern in my mind because what's the disease? The disease in this case is having one sex or another," said Dr. Michael Grodin, a Boston University bioethicist.While the gender test is controversial, doctors hope it can lead the way toward testing fetal DNA for chromosomal abnormalities such as Down's syndrome without invasive and potentially dangerous procedures currently being used.
More Information: BabyGenderMentor.com Distributed by Internet Broadcasting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
