80pc Aussies disapprove of sex-selective abortions

Washington, Dec 23 (ANI): A recent Australian survey has found that most people Down Under disapprove of abortion based on sex of the baby.

Dr Rebecca Kippen from the School of Population Health at the University of Melbourne analysed responses from the Australian Survey of Social Attitudes survey revealed that 69 per cent of respondents disapproved the use of IVF for sex selection and only 11 per cent of respondents supported the legalisation of hypothetical blue and pink pills for sex selection.

"Opposition to these technologies was grounded in three major concerns: the potential for distorted sex ratios; that sex selection can be an expression of gender bias; and a concern about 'designer infants' being created, when parents should be happy with a healthy baby," she said.

The results indicate that Australian parents want a balanced family, that is, a family with at least one son and one daughter.

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is due to review the ban on sex selection in 2011, and has called for community discussion of issues surrounding sex selection.

The ban began in 2004 with guidelines stating that ''sex selection (by whatever means) must not be undertaken except to reduce the risk of transmission of a serious genetic condition''.

The study is published online in Fertility and Sterility this month. (ANI)