Abstract:

In order to have a baby of the desired gender, all kinds of medical or non-medical interventions which have taken during the period from pre-pregnancy to pregnancy, birth and postpartum period can be defined as gender selection. Gender selection can be made for medical or non-medical reasons. While gender selection for medical reasons is considered ethically appropriate, gender selection for non-medical reasons is generally not ethically approved due to undesirable medical and social consequences. Gender selection is often made in favor of men, thus while it increases gender discrimination also decreases the social value of women. Gender selection for non-medical reasons leads to many unfavorable medical, ethical and social consequences. The most important of these is the death of many babies before or after birth because of gender selection, and social problems it causes. In recent decades, there have been important developments in reproductive medicine and genetics, and thus, sex determination of the embryo, which is necessary for gender selection during pregnancy has become easier and more reliable at an earlier stage of pregnancy. Studies continue to increase the efficiency and reliability of sperm separation techniques. In this article, it is aimed to discuss the use of new technologies such as sperm separation, in vitro fertilization + preimplantation genetic diagnosis, non-invasive prenatal diagnosis used in sex determination, and the ethical consequences of gender selection for non-medical reasons.

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