Fertility body rules out designer baby 'precedent'

LONDON, England -- Britain's fertility treatment regulator has said it will not bend its rules for a couple who want to choose the sex of their next child.

It warned on Wednesday that the case could set a dangerous precedent for "designer babies."

The Human Fertility Embryology Authority (HFEA), which regulates in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment in Britain, said Alan and Louise Masterton would have to find a licensed clinic willing to argue their case.

But the couple, from Scotland, have yet to convince any of the five British clinics licensed to carry out such gender-selective treatment to take up their case, because the HFEA guidelines say the treatment should only be used to avoid serious genetic conditions.

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The Mastertons, who have four young boys, want a baby girl after their only daughter was killed in an accident last year.

A HFEA spokesman said: "It was decided we would not allow it for any social, physical or psychological reasons. Our policy is it should not be used to create designer babies.

"The treatment is to avoid serious conditions like cystic fibrosis, haemophilia, muscular dystrophy and spinal muscular atrophy," he said, adding that the Mastertons had not yet officially applied for permission for the procedure through an approved clinic.

One of the licensed clinics said its own ethics committee declined to apply to the regulator on their behalf precisely because of the HFEA's existing guidelines.

"The Mastertons are in a catch-22 situation," said Simon Fishel, director of the Centre for Assisted Reproduction (CARE).

"We are all governed by our own ethics committee. We did put it to ours and their overriding concern was the view of the HFEA," he added, saying the Mastertons would however be able have the treatment abroad.

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HFEA
European Infertility Network
Human Genetics Advisory Commission

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