An early sex test available now
Early gender pregnancy tests have hit the market in the United States. Available direct-to-consumer at online pharmacies and maternity stores, medical genetic tests developed to select for sex in pregnancies with a strong risk of sex-linked hereditary disease are now being marketed as a way to decide whether to buy in pink or in blue as early as the 7th week of pregnancy. Moreover, a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that fetal DNA tests, which detect y-chromosomes in a pregnant woman’s blood, are 95% accurate. This offers a reliable method of sex-determination months earlier than standard ultrasound exams, which typically occur at 18-22 weeks.
Some articles recently in the news have commented on how these tests might be used for family balancing or for discriminatory abortions. Other articles draw out how the tests are only available in the United States through direct-to-consumer options. This is an area ripe for ethical discussion, but that is not the only point of entry for an STS analysis, as the following scholars point out: (more…)