TY - JOUR
T1 - Moral attitudes and beliefs among couples pursuing PGD for sex selection
AU - Sharp, Richard R.
AU - McGowan, Michelle L.
AU - Verma, Jonathan A.
AU - Landy, David C.
AU - McAdoo, Sallie
AU - Carson, Sandra A.
AU - Simpson, Joe Leigh
AU - McCullough, Laurence B.
PY - 2010/12
Y1 - 2010/12
N2 - This article reports the results from a study of couples participating in a research protocol in which IVF/preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) was available for non-medical sex selection. The study sought to characterize the moral attitudes and beliefs of couples actively pursuing IVF/PGD solely for purposes related to sex selection. Eighteen couples participated in ethnographic interviews from November 2005 to April 2006. These interviews explored couples' motivations for pursuing sex selection, moral beliefs and attitudes regarding sex selection and sources of moral ambivalence about the use of IVF/PGD for sex selection. Couples reported a combination of motivations for pursuing sex selection, including a desire to limit family size, concerns about parental age and financial concerns about multiple pregnancies. Many couples compared their decision to choices about abortion, maintaining that individuals have a right to make such decisions privately. Couples frequently expressed anxiety about telling their other children and family members about their plans to use IVF/PGD for sex selection. Few couples cited concerns about the physical or emotional burdens of IVF/PGD. The study's findings suggest that couples pursuing IVF/PGD for sex selection view this as an ethically complex decision and express considerable uncertainty about the ethical acceptability of this practice. Our paper reports results from a study of couples participating in a research study in which IVF/preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) was made available for non-medical sex selection. To our knowledge this is the first study to examine the moral attitudes and beliefs of couples actively seeking to use IVF/PGD solely for sex selection. The couples in our study provide a unique opportunity to examine the range of moral attitudes and beliefs held by couples actively seeking sex selection. The results we report provide much needed empirical data for clinicians who may be facing the difficult task of deciding whether, and in what manner, to offer patients the option of using IVF/PGD for sex selection.
AB - This article reports the results from a study of couples participating in a research protocol in which IVF/preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) was available for non-medical sex selection. The study sought to characterize the moral attitudes and beliefs of couples actively pursuing IVF/PGD solely for purposes related to sex selection. Eighteen couples participated in ethnographic interviews from November 2005 to April 2006. These interviews explored couples' motivations for pursuing sex selection, moral beliefs and attitudes regarding sex selection and sources of moral ambivalence about the use of IVF/PGD for sex selection. Couples reported a combination of motivations for pursuing sex selection, including a desire to limit family size, concerns about parental age and financial concerns about multiple pregnancies. Many couples compared their decision to choices about abortion, maintaining that individuals have a right to make such decisions privately. Couples frequently expressed anxiety about telling their other children and family members about their plans to use IVF/PGD for sex selection. Few couples cited concerns about the physical or emotional burdens of IVF/PGD. The study's findings suggest that couples pursuing IVF/PGD for sex selection view this as an ethically complex decision and express considerable uncertainty about the ethical acceptability of this practice. Our paper reports results from a study of couples participating in a research study in which IVF/preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) was made available for non-medical sex selection. To our knowledge this is the first study to examine the moral attitudes and beliefs of couples actively seeking to use IVF/PGD solely for sex selection. The couples in our study provide a unique opportunity to examine the range of moral attitudes and beliefs held by couples actively seeking sex selection. The results we report provide much needed empirical data for clinicians who may be facing the difficult task of deciding whether, and in what manner, to offer patients the option of using IVF/PGD for sex selection.
KW - Assisted reproduction
KW - Ethics
KW - Family balancing
KW - Informed consent
KW - Preimplantation genetic diagnosis
KW - Sex selection
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=78649678415&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=78649678415&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.rbmo.2010.09.009
DO - 10.1016/j.rbmo.2010.09.009
M3 - Article
C2 - 21051290
AN - SCOPUS:78649678415
SN - 1472-6483
VL - 21
SP - 838
EP - 847
JO - Reproductive BioMedicine Online
JF - Reproductive BioMedicine Online
IS - 7
ER -