Prenatal sex discernment can be performed bypreimplantation genetic diagnosis before conception, but this method may not always be classified asprenatal sex discernment because it's performed even beforeimplantation.
Cell-free fetal DNA testing, wherein avenipuncture is performed on the mother to analyze the small amount of fetal DNA that can be found within it. It provides the earliest post-implantation test. A meta-analysis published in 2011 found that such tests are reliable more than 98% of the time, as long as they are taken after the seventh week of pregnancy.[1][2]
Chorionic villus sampling (CVS) andamniocentesis are two rather invasive testing procedures. These may, in principle, be performed as early as the 8th and the 9th week of pregnancy. The difficulty of these tests and the risk of injury to the foetus, potentially resulting inmiscarriage or congenital abnormalities (especially when done early during the pregnancy), make them quite rare during the first trimester. In the United States,CVS andamniocentesis are most commonly performed after the 11th and the 15th week ofpregnancy.[citation needed]
Obstetric ultrasonography, either transvaginally or transabdominally, can check for thesagittal sign as a marker of foetal sex. It can be performed as early as 65 and 69 days from fertilization (week 12 ofgestational age), where it gives a result in 90% of cases – a result that is correct in approximately3⁄4 of cases, according to a study from 2001.[3] Accuracy for males is approximately 50% and for females almost 100%. When performed later, after 70 days from fertilization (at week 13 of gestational age), it gives an accurate result in almost 100% of cases.[3]
Preparation, for any sex-dependent aspects of parenting.
Sex selection, which after preimplantation genetic diagnosis may be performed by selecting only embryos of the preferred sex, or, after post-implantation methods by performingsex-selective abortion depending on the test result and personal preference. A 2006 survey found that 42 per cent ofIVF clinics in the US that offer PGD have provided it for sex selection for non-medical reasons.[4] Nearly half of these clinics perform it only for "family balancing", which is where a couple with two or more children of one sex desire a child of the other, but half do not restrict sex selection to family balancing. In India, this practice has been used to select for male embryos, although this practice is illegal.[5] Opinions on whether sex selection for non-medical reasons is ethically acceptable differ widely, as exemplified by the fact that theEuropean Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology Task Force could not formulate a uniform recommendation.
Prenatal sex determination was banned in India in 1994, under thePre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994.[6] The act aims to preventsex-selective abortion, which, according to the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, "has its roots in India's long history of strong patriarchal influence in all spheres of life". Prenatal sex determination has caused thechild sex ratio to go down at alarming rates, in India, which is also another factor that led to its banning.[7] However, theSupreme Court of India has accused theGovernment of India of poorimplementation andenforcement of the act.[8] Over time, there has been a substitution effect of more families participating in pre-natal sex determination instead of the previously popular act offemale foeticide.
The Chinese government has enacted three laws to try to prevent future occurrences of female infanticide. The Mother and Child Health Care Law of 1994 prevented sex identification of the fetus and prohibited the use of technology for the use of selective abortions based on the fetus's sex in order to protect female infants.[9] TheMarriage Law and theWomen's Protection Law both prohibit female infanticide and protect women's rights.[10] There is also a campaign started called "Care for Girls" which gives financial support to female-only families and supports equality between the genders.[9] On May 1, 2016, sex determination and sex-selective abortion were prohibited. Doctors are forbidden by the state from revealing the sex of unborn babies in an effort to stop prospective parents from finding out the sex of their child and potentially abort or abandon babies.[11]
