Most individuals are not interested in choosing the sex of their child if given the opportunity, according to the results of a new nationwide survey reflecting the general US population.

Sex selection is currently available through invasive and expensive in-vitro fertilization techniques. However, another technology using sperm selection, which may soon be marketed in the US, should make the selection process much easier and affordable, although less reliable (75 percent chance of successfully choosing a boy and 90 percent chance of choosing a girl).

The technique, currently under investigation for FDA approval, has triggered moral, legal and social concerns, and is a topic of concern of the President’s Council on Bioethics. Some fear that sex selection may disrupt the natural sex ratio and could lead to gender stereotyping and discrimination.

“Our findings show that the technology is unlikely to be used by the majority of Americans and should not have an impact on the natural sex ratio,” principal author Dr. Tarun Jain, from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago, told Reuters Health.

Jain noted that at least two conditions have to be met before the sex ratio becomes unbalanced. “First, there must be a significant preference for children of a particular sex, and second, there must be a considerable interest in using this technology.”

The researchers assessed these factors in 1,197 adults who completed an anonymous Web-based questionnaire.

The findings, published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, show that only 8 percent of respondents said they would use the technology for non-medical reasons, and that 74 percent were opposed to it. The remaining 18 percent were undecided.

Sex selection currently requires patients to undergo several insemination attempts at a fertility center, costing about $2,500 each time. If the technique was available at any doctor’s office, required only a single cycle of insemination and was covered by health insurance, 12 percent of the surveyed population would use the technology.

If sex selection could be accomplished with a pill, 18 percent would be willing to choose, while 59 percent would still remain reluctant.

Moreover, the results show that 77 percent of respondents either preferred to have an equal number of boys and girls or had no preference. Thirty-nine said they would prefer their first child to be a son, 19 percent preferred to have a daughter and 42 percent had no preference.

SOURCE: Fertility and Sterility, February, 2006.