Tuesday 13 March, 2001
The PGD Baby Battle
Should parents have the right to choose the gender of their child? One of the most difficult ethical issues surrounding test tube babies is pre-implantation gender diagnosis, or PGD, which means couples undergoing assisted conception can choose whether to have a boy or a girl.
Outlook talks to a couple who are determined to have a baby girl rather than a boy, and who are seeking help outside their home country to try to make this possible.
Will PGD Lead To Designer Babies?
When in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or so-called test tube babies, were first introduced some 23 years ago, the technique posed controversial, ethical dilemmas. Now a new concern has been thrown up surrounding pre-implantation gender diagnosis (PGD). This is a controversial technique, whereby couples undergoing IVF can choose whether to have a girl or a boy.
The technique is legal in several countries, including Italy, but it in the UK it is only permitted in exceptional cases where it is thought to have a specific medical benefit, such as determining genetic disorders, such as cystic fibrosis.
Whilst there are obvious medical benefits to cell sexing embryo's, critics fear the implications that PGD could have on cultures which have a preference for males. In addition, there is the suggestion that this treatment could lead society one step closer to the phenomena of the 'designer baby'. As a spokesperson for the anti-abortion group Life has commented:
| 'This is further evidence of consumerism overtaking parenthood. I wonder if we will ever be able to reclaim the mystery of childbirth?' | |
The Masterton's Story
The ethical debate concerning PGD treatment in the UK has recently focused on the case of one couple. Alan and Louise Masterton have been desperate to have another daughter after their three-year-old daughter, Nicole, died in a tragic accident two years ago.
They already have four sons, but the Mastertons believe that a daughter would help to heal their family. Louise Masterton explains:
'After we had our first little boy we tried again, and again for a little girl. Fifteen years later we got our precious little girl, Nicole. She was tragically killed after a fire accident in the garden.'
'We miss the female dimension in the family. After four boys and a girl, our family was complete and, although it will never be complete again, we feel that another little girl will help to heal the empty space that she has left.'
Critics have questioned the Masterton's motive for wanting another child, however Alan Masterton explains the family's view:
| 'We are against so-called designer children and we are not seeking to replicate Nicole. What we are seeking to do is heal our family and return the female element to it.' | |
The Mastertons' applied to the UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority for permission to undergo fertility treatment where the gender of their child could be determined.
With only five clinics in the UK qualified to carry out this procedure, the Masterton's options were limited. By the year 2000 the couple learned that the authorities had decided that they were not suitable for PGD treatment and, determined to pursue their dream of having another daughter, the Mastertons' borrowed money from a friend and sought the help of fertility specialists in Italy.
Human Rights
After a period of treatment at the Biogenesi clinic in Rome the Mastertons' were left with one fertilised embryo, but it was male. The couple was devastated that the treatment had not worked as they had hoped and, as Louise Masterton explains, they decided to give the male embryo away:
'We've got four boys already…how many are we supposed to keep having before we have another girl? We decided to not let it [the male embryo] perish in a dish, but to give it away to a childless couple and hopefully turn a couple into a family.'
The Mastertons' are now back home in Monifieth near Dundee, Scotland. Mr Masterton has quit his garage business and is now training in the law. Having suggested that they would invoke the Human Rights Act for the right to choose the sex of their child, the couple currently awaits the results of the Ombudsman report into claims that the HFEA did not provide them with a fair hearing.
They do not have the necessary funds to embark on a second course of treatment in Italy and feel that the UK system has let them down. Alan Masterton explains:
'It's a class divide thing. People with money can get a far higher standard of health care and people like ourselves, who can not afford to do that sort of thing, just get brushed aside.'
The Future Of PGD
Whilst sympathetic to the Masterton's case a spokesperson for the HFEA has made it clear that the decision to refuse the Masterton's PGD treatment in the UK was not taken lightly. Recalling the initial outcry 23 years ago when IVF was first revealed, Paul Serhal of the HFEA says of PGD treatment:
'The British society is not yet prepared to accept this kind of practise…my view is that society will accept this as a routine procedure, but it not going to happen now.'
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| IVF Success |
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The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's (HFEA) Annual Report, published in December 2000 shows that over 50,000 babies have been born following invitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment in the UK since it was first successful in 1978.
Since the introduction of IVF there has been a steady rise in patients, treatments and success rates with over 50% of all IVF babies being born in the past three years. |
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