Preconception sex selection demand and preferences in the United States
Received 25 May 2005; received in revised form 22 July 2005; accepted 22 July 2005.
Objective
Preconception sex selection for nonmedical reasons raises important moral, legal, and social issues. The main concern is based upon the assumption that a widely available service for sex selection will lead to a socially disruptive imbalance of the sexes. For a severe sex ratio distortion to occur, however, at least two conditions have to be met. First, there must be a significant preference for children of a particular sex, and second, there must be a considerable interest in employing sex selection technology. Our objective was to ascertain such demand and preferences among the United States general population.
Design
Cross-sectional web-based survey.
Setting
United States general population.
Patient(s)
One thousand one hundred ninety-seven men and women aged 18 to 45 years.
Intervention(s)
None.
Main Outcome Measure(s)
Web-based questionnaire assessing preferences for sex of children and demand for preconception sex selection for nonmedical reasons.
Result(s)
Eight percent of respondents would use preconception sex selection technology, 74% were opposed, and 18% were undecided. If the sex selection process was simplified to taking a pill, 18% would be willing to use such a medication, 59% were opposed, and 22% were undecided. In terms of gender choices, 39% of respondents would like their first child to be a son, 19% would like their first child to be a daughter, and 42% had no preference. Overall, 50% wished to have a family with an equal number of boys and girls, 7% with more boys than girls, 6% with more girls than boys, 5% with only boys, 4% with only girls, and 27% had no preference.
Conclusion(s)
Preconception sex selection technology via sperm separation is unlikely to be used by the majority of the United States population and is unlikely to have a significant impact on the natural sex ratio.
aCenter for Bioethics and Humanities, State University of New York Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York
bInstitute for Healthcare Studies, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
cClinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany
dDepartment of Psychology and Medical Sociology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
eClinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Giessen, Germany
fDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Giessen, Germany
gDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
Reprint requests: Tarun Jain, M.D., Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, University of Illinois Medical Center, 820 South Wood Street, M/C 808, Chicago, Illinois 60612 (FAX: 3129964238).
ABSTRACT