title: Sex selection, public policy and the HFEA's role in political decision making - response to Edgar Dahl's 'The presumption in favour of liberty'.
abstract: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's report on sex selection is criticized because its recommendation to prohibit all techniques for social sexing is based on unsupported allegations. As a body with a scientific status, the Authority should allow the application of some methods of sex selection for non-medical reasons in a strictly regulated fashion, in order to gather empirical evidence about the psychosocial as well as medical consequences for all people involved.
authors.affiliation: Ghent University, Centre for Environmental Philosophy and Bioethics, Department of Philosophy, Blandijnberg 2, B-9000 Gent, Belgium. Guido.Pennings@UGent.be
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pennings
mesh_terms: D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019836:Preimplantation Diagnosis; D011640:Public Policy; D027724:Reproductive Techniques, Assisted / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D012743:Sex Preselection / Q000379:methods*; D006113:United Kingdom