title: Questioning the assumptions in the debate on assisted reproduction: comment on the House of Commons report Human Reproductive Technologies and the Law.
abstract: The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee has issued a series of non-dogmatic recommendations. Also regarding elective sex selection, it has adopted a controversial position. Sex selection should be allowed for family balancing. However, the acceptability of preimplantation genetic diagnosis as a method for selecting the embryos can be questioned on the basis of social harm. In countries with a shortage of medical personnel and a limited health care budget, elective procedures are a loss to society. This loss should be compensated by imposing a 'social compensation tax' for every application of elective sexing.
authors.affiliation: Ghent University, Centre for Environmental Philosophy and Bioethics, Department of Philosophy, Blandijnberg 2B-9000 Gent, Belgium. Guido.Pennings@UGent.be
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pennings
mesh_terms: D026683:Advisory Committees; D005260:Female; D033161:Government Regulation; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D019836:Preimplantation Diagnosis / Q000941:ethics / Q000639:trends; D027724:Reproductive Techniques, Assisted / Q000941:ethics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D012743:Sex Preselection / Q000941:ethics; D006113:United Kingdom