Test that tells baby's sex raises abortion fears

Melbourne, May 10 (ANI): A test that claims to determine the sex of an unborn baby only eight weeks into a pregnancy has raised fears of driving up abortion rates.

IntelliGender, which will be available in pharmacies from today, claims a 90 per cent accuracy rate in determining the gender of the baby.

However, doctors and the anti-abortion lobby fear the test, the first test of its kind in Australia, will be used as a means of sex selection and increase abortion rates.

Currently, there are no restrictions on the sale of pregnancy testing products in Australia.

The company behind the 95-dollar test, which has been sold in the US since 2006, says it takes 10 minutes and identifies a 'confidential element' found in the hormones of a woman pregnant with a girl.

The element is found in very low levels in women pregnant with a boy or not pregnant at all.

Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists president Dr Ted Weaver said there appeared to be no scientific evidence to back the test's claims.

"We're all about women having choices, but we want the choices to be valid. The concern we would have is that people would then terminate pregnancies on the grounds of sex selection," the Daily Telegraph quoted Weaver as saying.

Australian Christian Lobby managing director Jim Wallace said the product should be banned.

"That we would allow a product that would allow eugenics to be practised and started in the home is just unbelievable," he said. (ANI)