The Business Ethics Blog

From the BBC: Early baby sex test over the web

A test is being sold on the internet that enables parents to check the sex of their unborn baby at just six weeks.
The kit, sold by DNA Worldwide for £189, is controversial. Critics claim it may prompt parents to abort if they are unhappy with the test result.

The company rejected these claims, saying the early results, obtained from a finger-prick of blood, allow parents more time to plan for their baby.

According to the company’s ethics page

DNA Testing Direct are aware that there are some concerns that the Pink or Blue Test could lead to gender selection and are keen to encourage the ethical debate in this new area. As a company we, together with the manufacturers of the test, have decided not to sell the early gender test into China and India and some other areas, as it is not our intention that the Pink or Blue test should be used, either directly or indirectly, for sex selection.

The company operates in the UK, a liberal society that does not prize babies of one sex over another, a culture which also places the responsibility for the unborn baby firmly with the mother. As this is the case with most if not all Western cultures we are happy that, with education and informed debate, responsibility should lie with the individual.