Whether sex-selection for non-medical reasons, using pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, should be permitted in the UK

Dyal, Mandeep (2014). Whether sex-selection for non-medical reasons, using pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, should be permitted in the UK. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

Following over a decade of debate, sex-selection for non-medical reasons using PGD was prohibited by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008. The prohibition was justified on the basis of several objections to the procedure. This thesis will consider the veracity of those objections and will focus on the objections relating to: the alleged harms to individuals and families; potential sex ratio imbalance; and sex discrimination and the impact of the prohibition upon Punjabi ethnicity women.

Part I will focus predominantly on the alleged harms of the procedure. It will analyse the manner in which the principles of harm and precaution were applied and interpreted during the consultations and reviews that led to the prohibition. A comparison with the approach taken in relation to ‘saviour siblings’ will demonstrate the manner in which the principles should have been applied to sex-selection. Part II will consider the issue from the perspective of the north-Indian state of Punjab. An examination of the reasons belying the sex ratio imbalance in Punjab will demonstrate the unlikelihood of such an imbalance materialising within the UK. Sex discrimination and the impact of the prohibition upon Punjabi ethnicity women within the UK will be considered against this background.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):