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Hum. Reprod. Advance Access published online on February 23, 2006
Human Reproduction, doi:10.1093/humrep/del050
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
Received December 20, 2005
Revised January 22, 2006
Accepted January 28, 2006

OPINION

Sex predetermination and the ethics of sex selection

V.J. Grant 1 *

1 Department of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
V.J. Grant, E-mail: vj.grant{at}auckland.ac.nz


  Abstract

At present there appear to be two main categories of problems involved in the ethics of sex selection. The first has to do with the status of the embryo, and the second has to do with the social consequences of making sex selection widely available. However, these may not be the only issues. There is growing evidence from evolutionary psychology and biology, which suggests that the sex of the offspring in mammals may not, after all, be a matter of chance. Instead, sex allocation in mammals may be the result of a finely tuned adaptive process involving the current suitability of a mother to conceive an offspring of a particular sex. If so, we need to know more about this process before embarking on a social policy that could have disadvantageous outcomes for children, their parents and society as a whole.

Keywords: ethics/sex allocation/sex determination/sex preferences.
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This article has been cited by other articles:


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E. Dahl
Evolution, morality and the law: on Valerie J. Grant's case against sex selection
Hum. Reprod., December 1, 2006; 21(12): 3303 - 3303.
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 Hum ReprodHome page
V.J. Grant
Reply: Evolution, morality and the law: on Valerie J. Grant's case against sex selection
Hum. Reprod., December 1, 2006; 21(12): 3303 - 3304.
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